FTII student in city to mobilize support

KOLKATA: A second-year film direction student of Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) has been sent to Kolkata to disseminate information regarding the ongoing strike at the institute. On the day FTII director issued a letter asking students to immediately terminate the strike or face rustication, Rajarshi Sarkar was sent to Kolkata from Pune to mobilize support in favour of the students.
Sarkar said, “We don’t fear rustication. The strike will continue. We understand that there has been a clear ploy to deviate attention from the core issue to other things. I have been sent from Pune to Kolkata to ensure that the correct information goes out to the people here.”
Apart from talking to students of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute and Jadavpur University, Sarkar is also trying to get in touch with filmmakers and authors. “There has been some misinformation regarding issues such as privatization of FTII, backlog in the institute and a number of strikes that have been held there. This has been carefully done to divert attention,” he says.
Helping Sarkar out in Kolkata is FTII alumnus Shreyashi Mukherjee. This 2008 batch student of FTII is in Kolkata for the release of ‘Shesher Kobita’ where she is making her acting debut. “Students don’t support character assassination of Gajendra Chauhan. We have also protested the appointment of four other members of the governing council — Narendra Pathak, Anagha Ghaisas, Rahul Solapurkar and Sailesh Gupta,” Mukherjee said.
Sarkar and Mukherjee are trying to ensure that people in Kolkata don’t get de-focused from the core issues of FTII. “Baseless allegations were made stating that this strike is being spearheaded by Naxals. Our strike has no political colour. It is not about BJP or RSS. We are fighting against a system,” Sarkar added.
Sreemoyee Singh, who is doing her PhD at the film studies department of Jadavpur University, is also lending support. She said, “It’s not just a Pune issue. Kolkatans must realize that this can happen to any radical and liberal spaces of art. It’s incorrect to project them as spaces for revenue generation.”