Amid the flood of congratulatory messages for Payal Kapadia, who won the second-highest honour at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, the message from her alma mater, FTII, attracted much attention on Sunday.
At the gala, which concluded on Saturday, Kapadia won the Grand Prix Award, making her the first Indian to receive this honour.
In 2015, Kapadia participated in a student protest against the appointment of actor-turned-politician Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). The students felt that Chauhan did not match the vision and stature of past chairmen of the FTII governing council, and his appointment seemed politically motivated.
During the 139-day strike, the students also reportedly confined the then FTII Director Prashant Pathrabe in his office over some academic issues, which led to the police entering the campus and arresting some of the protesters.
Later, 35 students, including Kapadia, were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. The next court hearing is scheduled for June 26.
“It is a moment of pride for FTII as its Alumni create history at Cannes. As we witness a phenomenal year for Indian Cinema at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, FTII cherishes the glorious achievements of its Alumni at this Mega International Stage of Cinema,” FTII said in a post on X.
“We congratulate Payal Kapadia for winning the Grand Prix Award, Santosh Sivan for receiving the Pierre Angénieux Tribute Award, Maisam Ali for his debut at ACID & Chidanand S Naik for winning La Cinef. Their achievements are taking Indian Cinema to greater heights,” the post added.
Oscar-winning Indian sound designer Resul Pookutty in his post on social media said the mainstream Indian film industry has nothing to do with this glory and they “only looked at us as outcasts”. The only reason they won is also not because “we had inspiring teachers, there were some but not all”, he said.
He added, “Payal (Accused No.25) comes back from Cannes and next month will have to go for her court case hearing that FTII lodged against her for striking against the appointment of Mr.Chouhan as the Chairman! Interesting, isn't it?!” Ameya Gore, one of the 35 students booked in the case, said that after the incident, the majority of the students faced issues with scholarships and obtaining passports.
“The case is still ongoing in the Sessions Court, but there has been no progress from the prosecution's side. The trial has not started yet. Hearings are generally scheduled every two to three months, but nothing happens because nobody from the prosecution shows up,” Gore said.
Advocate Chinmay Inamdar, who is defending the students, said the prosecution has filed the chargesheet but has not submitted the video file, in the form of a CD/DVD or pen drive, of the incident where the director was gheraoed in 2015.
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