Vishnuvaradhan starrer "Sirivantha" has notched up a distinction long before its scheduled release Sep 28. It is the first Kannada film, perhaps, to have moved the censors to tears.

Well-known producer 'Rockline' Venkatesh says he has never seen anything like this before. Members of the board of censors got "very emotional" after viewing his film and "many of them were in tears", he said .

Superstar Shivaraj Kumar and his brother Raghavendra Raj, who is a producer, saw the film with their families. And according to Venkatesh the families were also "in tears".

He says they telephoned Vishnu to congratulate him on his "excellent performance". Shruti teams up with Vishnu in the film, directed by actor-director S. Narayana

Without giving away much about the film, Venkatesh says the hero's part is going to be a hit, especially with women.

While his claim is yet to be tested, the film's audio has already become a hit. Two songs rendered by S.P. Balasubramaniam are getting good reviews.