FTII administration cancels student's film screening following threats from ABVP

The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) cancelled the documentary screening of a student after receiving threats from the student outfit Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) claims a student body. The film titled Hora, a 23 minute long documentary short about the controversial Kabir Kala Manch, by final year student Harishankar Nachimuthu, former president of FTII Students’ Association was to be screened at the institute’s campus on 6 September, but was cancelled due to security concerns. Some members of the Manch, a cultural group, have been under the police scanner for alleged Maoist links. [caption id=“attachment_5148461” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Film and Television Institute of India. Facebook[/caption] The FTII administration denied the charge, saying the screening was cancelled for reasons such as lack of a censor certificate and failure to give advance intimation about the public screening. The ABVP denied the claim. “We are not aware of this issue,” a functionary of the organisation told PTI. FTII Director Bhupendra Kainthola  said the student did not apply in advance to book the main theatre for screening. “The first screening of a student’s film is normally only for internal viewing and assessment, and not for general public, as various pre-requisites like CBFC (censor board) certificate, logistics etc have to be met before outside public is invited for screening,” he said. The allegation that the FTII cancelled the screening under pressure from a particular organisation was “so preposterous and baseless that replying to it would lend dignity to it”, Kainthola, an Indian Information Service officer of 1989 batch, said in a statement. Nachimuthu publicised the screening schedule on social media keeping the (FTII) authorities in the dark", he said. The Association said the content of the documentary had been scrutinised and approved by FTII faculty members. “The Manch is not a banned organisation and the public performances documented in the film had happened with the police permission,” the students’ body said. The songs featuring in the documentary are about Dr B R Ambedkar’s principles and not about Maoism, it said. The Manch  was one of the organisers of the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31. Police have registered an FIR alleging that speeches made at the event led to violence at Koregaon-Bhima near Pune the next day. The documentary was made a year ago, Nachimuthu said. “It is not on the Manch, but about an artist  from the group and how she looks at theAmbedkarite movement,” he said. (With inputs from Press Trust of India)