Film director Jeo Baby has expressed protest against the authorities of Farook College near here for cancelling a film club event on the campus to which he was earlier invited as a guest.
In a video posted on Instagram on Wednesday, Mr. Baby, director of critically acclaimed movies such as The Great Indian Kitchen and Kaathal, said he was supposed to attend the event scheduled for December 5. He was invited to deliver a lecture on ‘The subtle politics of present day Malayalam cinema’.
Though Mr. Baby reached Kozhikode in the morning on the said date, the staff coordinator in charge of the film club told him that the event had been cancelled. “Though I asked him what led to the decision, I didn’t get a clear answer. Even posters of the event were released on social media. The staff coordinator also said that he was pained by the decision,” he pointed out.
Mr. Baby claimed that though he had tried to contact the college principal seeking clarity on the issue, no response was forthcoming. Later, he got a statement from the students’ union as a forwarded message, in which it was said that Mr. Baby’s “remarks were against the moral values of the college.” Because of that, the college union would not cooperate with the event, the statement added. The students’ union is led by the Muslim Students’ Federation, the student body of the Indian Union Muslim League.
Mr. Baby pointed out that he felt insulted by the episode, and that he wanted to know why the management cancelled the event. “I had to spend a whole day for travelling to Kozhikode and then return. I am also seeking legal recourse,” he said in the video.
Meanwhile, the college management said in a statement that the students’ union had declared its decision to boycott the event. “The union was also planning to hold a protest against it. In that context, the event was cancelled as it might cause inconvenience to the guest.”
Published - December 06, 2023 10:02 pm IST
