Naseeruddin Shah, filmmaker Payal Kapadia stand in solidarity with agitating SRFTI students

KOLKATA: Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah and filmmaker Payal Kapadia have expressed solidarity with agitating SRFTI students, who have been protesting against attacks allegedly by RSS-linked organisations on the film institute's campus here. In a video clip posted on social media, Shah launched a scathing attack on the ruling BJP in West Bengal, accusing the party of pursuing a vendetta against those who do not subscribe to its beliefs and policies.

Kapadia, whose 'All We Imagine as Light' won the Grand Prix at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, said she was "absolutely horrified" by the developments at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) here. The students alleged that they were attacked on September 27 by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, an RSS-affiliated consumer awareness group, and again on October 4 during a rally by the Bangiya Hindu Jagran Manch near the institute's gate.

Classes in the premier central government-run film institute have remained suspended since September 28. "After its...victory in the Bengal elections, the BJP seems to be all out for revenge against anyone who does not subscribe to its beliefs and policies," Shah alleged, describing the protesting SRFTI students as the latest victims of what he termed the party's "vendetta". Claiming that the BJP is "either hoping to brainwash or frighten future filmmakers of the country", he asserted, "I can promise you that is not going to happen." BJP leaders could not be contacted for comments on Shah's allegations. Emphasising the importance of independent filmmaking and freedom of expression, Shah said students at film institutes would play a crucial role in documenting and interpreting the country's social and political realities.

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Demands of SRFTI students

"They are the young people who, in the future, will tell us the truth about ourselves, about our country and about the state we are in," he said, urging people to support the demands of SRFTI students. SRFTI students are on an indefinite sit-in, demanding the resignation of VC Santosh Ajmera, while the institute, in a notice on October 16, ordered suspension of film-making and video classes till November 13 and asked students to vacate the campus. Kapadia also said that academic activities had remained suspended and that students had recently been served notices asking them to vacate their hostel rooms and leave the campus. The filmmaker said, "Students were facing disciplinary action, while no steps had been taken against those accused of assaulting them and groping women students."

She alleged that the administration was threatening students with rustication for questioning over security issues and how campus violence was "allowed" to take place. Describing the situation as "deeply concerning", the filmmaker stressed that the safety of students was at stake. She urged the institute's administration to take action against those allegedly responsible for "instigating" the violence rather than penalising the students who had raised security-related questions over the incidents. SRFTI students' union spokesperson Sudip Chakraborty said, "The students have been demanding accountability from the administration, action over alleged unauthorised activities on the campus and assurances that the institute remains a safe and independent space for film education."