Kolkata: A day before the nationwide campus protest against the “saffronisation of educational institutions” called by SRFTI Students’ Union, filmmakers Anand Patwardhan and Ashish Avikunthak expressed solidarity with students. Meanwhile, TOI found a fresh coat of paint on SRFTI’s exterior walls, earlier defaced with provocative slogans against constitutional authorities.In a video, Patwardhan said he would “back up everything that my brother Naseeruddin Shah has said about the incidents at SRFTI”. He described those opposing the “fascist regime of the RSS-BJP” as his brothers and sisters, calling it a “long drawn out fight”. He said more people were speaking out “thanks specially to the cockroach movement that has allowed people to get rid of the fear and speak out openly”.Calling developments at SRFTI “tragic because it is named after Satyajit Ray — someone whose work exemplifies the values of secular India”, Patwardhan said the institution should either uphold secular values or rename itself after some person “from their pantheon”.Avikunthak, in another video, praised the students’ “courageous movement” against “oppression” and “injustice”. “You are in the direct lineage of the greatness of the struggle Ritwik Ghatak exemplified,” he said, linking their cause to the “struggle of students in this country against the Hindu right-wing.” Students from Indian Statistical Institute and Jadavpur University also posted solidarity videos.SRFTI VC Santosh Ajmera urged filmmakers to verify facts before commenting. “I would like to urge big filmmakers to please look into all facts before reacting,” he said, offering to share photos and videos. He said the administration was ensuring campus safety. Former SRFTI director Himanshu Sekhar Khatua urged dialogue and caution among outsiders. “I don’t have the full details of the issue to comment further,” he told TOI. Stressing students’ futures and the govt’s investment in SRFTI, he questioned why the institute was being used to settle political scores. Distressed that its name was “being sullied”, he urged stakeholders to set egos aside and said, “Everything will get sorted with dialogue and not accusations”.
