Naseeruddin Shah accuses BJP of vendetta against protesting SRFTI students

Actor Naseeruddin Shah and filmmaker Payal Kapadia have backed protesting students at SRFTI amid allegations of attacks by RSS-linked groups. Shah accused the BJP of targeting dissenters, while Kapadia raised concerns over campus safety, disciplinary action and suspension of classes

Kolkata: Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah and filmmaker Payal Kapadia have expressed solidarity with agitating students of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), who have been protesting against alleged incursions by RSS-linked organisations onto the institute’s campus.

In a video clip posted on social media, Shah launched an 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.

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Kapadia, whose film ‘All We Imagine as Light’ won the Grand Prix at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, said she was “absolutely horrified” by the developments at SRFTI.

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 at 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 was “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 comment 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.

“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.

The students are staging an indefinite sit-in, demanding the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Santosh Ajmera. In a notice issued on October 16, the institute ordered the suspension of filmmaking and video classes until November 13 and asked students to vacate the campus.

Kapadia also said academic activities had remained suspended and that students had recently received 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 raising questions about security issues and how campus violence had been “allowed” to take place.

Describing the situation as “deeply concerning”, Kapadia said the safety of students was at stake.

She urged the institute’s administration to act against those allegedly responsible for “instigating” the violence rather than penalising students who had raised security-related concerns.

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.”