FTII protest mounting

Kerala is witnessing rising protests over the appointmentof Gajendra Chouhan as Pune FTII chairman

June 20, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:41 am IST

The Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, has a special place in the average Malayali film buff’s heart, for some of the legendary filmmakers from the State, both in parallel and mainstream cinema, shaped their art there and later went on to become teachers there. So, when the students of the FTII came out strongly in protest against the Union government’s alleged saffronisation of the institute with the appointment of serial actor Gajendra Chouhan as its chairman, the rumbles were felt in the State too.

Cinematographer Santosh Sivan fired the first salvo, by declining to be on the governing council of the institute. Soon, other filmmakers including Adoor Gopalakrishnan came out with statements against the appointment of someone whose claim to fame include several b-grade flicks and a starring role in a television marketing show.

With the students not giving in, the protest spilled out onto the streets in Kerala too. On Wednesday, musician Shahabaz Aman led a protest at Mananchira in Kozhikode. On Thursday, filmmakers Rajeev Ravi, Amal Neerad and Joy Mathew and artist Riyas Komu led the protests in Kochi. Over the weekend, such protests are set to happen in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and other places, with participation from many filmmakers who are part of the large clan of FTII alumni in the State.

Suresh Gopi differs

The only discordant note was struck by actor Suresh Gopi, whose appointment as the head of the National Film Development Corporation has been criticised as another instance of saffronisation. He said that the protest at the FTII should be suppressed and that students should not have the rights to question appointments. The protesting students’ ire expectedly turned against him too.

Malayali presence

At the protest in the FTII too, there’s a strong Malayali presence with graffiti of John Abraham and others accompanied with revolutionary slogans on display.

The action is taking place online too as students are digging up old film clips of Gajendra Chouhan, some from soft porn flicks, and sharing it widely. Some badly made short films by two other new appointees eulogising the Prime Minister have also become a hit online.

Reporting by

S.R. Praveen

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