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Several Malayalam filmmakers extended support to students of KR Narayanan National Film Institute of Visual Science and Arts, Kottayam, who have been protesting against the alleged caste discrimination in the institution.
On Tuesday evening, directors Kamal KM, Jeo Baby, Kamal, Aashiq Abu, Mahesh Narayanan, actor Sajitha Madathil, and musician Bijibal, among several others, joined the protest at Tagore theatre, the main venue of the ongoing 27th International Film Festival of Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram.
A sea of students gathered with placards urging the resignation of the institute's director Shankar Mohan. The students alleged that Shankar, a former actor and filmmaker, has exhibited caste-based discrimination on the campus on multiple occasions and asked conservancy workers to clean the toilets of the director's private residence. The allegation also includes Shankar breaching students' reservation rules.
Following this, the students of the film institute began an indefinite strike. Speaking at the protest, filmmaker Kamal said at a time when Kerala is upholding progressive values, these kinds of events are unacceptable. He noted that the students should not let the government go back to the pre-renaissance age.
Filmmaker Jeo Baby said that he had witnessed similar issues when he visited the campus. He also stated that this kind of behaviour is due to the ego of older people. Jeo Baby urged that this world-class institute should not become a matter of shame.
Aashiq Abu asked the government to initiate a probe into this matter and observed that these allegations by students are not silly and reflect a clear case of crime. Actor Sajitha Madathil, who had worked previously in the institute, urged the government to sensitise institute heads about caste discrimination. She also noted that many staff have been pushed out of the institute. She also mentioned one of the employees who wrote about caste discrimination by Shankar.