'We don't think ragging is fun'

For most, college life is all about friends, fun and frolic. But how many of us have enjoyed ragging sessions during college?
When ragging transcends the borders of friendly interaction and takes the ugly shape of humiliation and trauma, it’s got to be stopped, right there and then, feel actors Tulip Joshi and Vatsal Sheth, the lead cast of film Hostel which releases today.
Writer-director of the film, Manish Gupta of Sarkar and Stoneman Murders fame, feels very strongly about changing the mindset of students who rag because they find this a form of entertainment. “During my college days, I met a boy who was sodomised by his seniors inside the boys hostel, every single night, as part of ragging. Just listening to his trauma filled me with such rage that 17 years hence, my anger boiled over into an action-packed film which extends a powerful message to the youth of India,” says Manish.
Agreeing with him, Vatsal says, “While shooting a scene where I am stripped completely in front of a large crowd, I was embarrassed. That’s when I actually understood the trauma of all those students who are actually stripped and paraded around nude, in the name of ragging.” Tulip, quite the pretty eye candy, who plays Vatsal’s love interest in this film, feels that “a change in mindset is what can usher in a change in behaviour”.
Producer Vicky Tejwani, who’s always supported realistic and meaningful cinema with a social message, comments, “The satisfaction of having made a product that reaches out to people and stays in their hearts is what drives me to produce films.” His partner Gurpal Sachar adds, “When Manish narrated the subject, Vicky and I were moved by those true incidents. By seeing the response of the film’s ‘stop ragging’ promotions across India, I think we have achieved our goal.”
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