40 days of protest: Kerala film institute students stand firm, organise classes outside

The protest by students at the KR Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts, over alleged incidents of casteism on the part of the authorities, has entered its 40th day. The protest began on December 5, 2022, after the institute's director Shankar Mohan allegedly discriminated on the basis of caste against students and staff. The students have been demanding that both the director and the institute’s chairperson — the celebrated auteur Adoor Gopalakrishnan — should be removed. Adoor supported Shankar Mohan after the students raised the issue of casteism. In his later interviews, he made derogatory remarks against the women employees who alleged caste discrimination and also said that students who wanted to study would not go on strike. 

Even as they voiced their strong protest against these statements, they organised classes and sessions in auditoriums outside the institute. Guests and celebrities expressing solidarity with the students have been coming to the institute to conduct sessions or hold online classes for them.

The students who managed to have classes conducted outside the campus all these days, wrote an Instagram post that they have come to a stage where they need financial support to move forward. “We have had classes every working day, either in the auditorium just outside the campus or through online sessions. Directors Anand Gandhi, Gurvinder Singh, actor Sujith Sankar and many others have been conducting online sessions. Activist Maithreyan and members of the music band Oorali came. Some come on our invitations, some come on their own, expressing solidarity," said Sreedev Suprakash, chairperson of the students’ council.

Read: When Adoor Gopalakrishnan contradicts his art that vilified inequality

They are still bringing dignitaries to conduct classes, despite the opposition they face. On Thursday, January 12, filmmaker and cinematographer Amal Neerad held a session for the students as part of 'The Art of Protest' campaign organised by the students' council. He was denied entry into the institute by security guards, saying that the institute's director had told them not to allow anyone inside.

“Amal Neerad thought that the class could be conducted inside. But the security guard [of the institute] said it could not be allowed as the director had instructed that only the faculty members and students could be allowed inside. So we stood outside the gate and interacted with him for a while and then went to the auditorium for the class,” Sreedev said.

Other known names in the film industry such as directors Rajeev Ravi, Jeo Baby, Kamal KM and actor Sujith Sankar have also been taking sessions as part of the campaign.

The issue received attention after the students brought it up in the venues of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in December. Prominent names from the Malayalam film industry including veteran directors Kamal, Mahesh Narayanan, Aashiq Abu and actor Sajitha Madathil spoke in favour of the students at the venue.

Watch: Caste discrimination at KR Narayanan Film institute in Kerala