'Shootout' at SPPU: The fate of Nagraj Manjule's next

On October 12, we had reported that Amitabh Bachchan will be shooting for Nagraj Manjule’s next at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU). However, it looks like the scheduled shoot has run into it’s share of controversy after student organisations sent letters, protesting against the use of the university’s ground for purposes other than playing. The university authorities have justified their decision by clarifying that only a part of the said ground has been given for the shoot.Arvind Shaligram, acting registrar of SPPU said, “Less than a third of the ground is being used for erecting the set and the shoot later. Besides, the amount charged by the university is also nominal because the director is an ex-student and the money is going to be used for the students’ benefit only, especially to award and recognise the achievement of university students in the field of sports.”
Student bodies, on the other hand, feel that the university’s stand has changed after they protested. “Earlier there was no clarity on what the money was going to be used for. After our protest, authorities are saying that the money will be used for students,” said Kalpesh Yadav, member of a students’ body. The university authorities have refuted this saying the money was always going to be used for the aforementioned purposes.
The part of the ground where the set is being put up has been dug up but, according to authorities, the MoU signed between the university and the filmmakers clearly states that the ground will be handed over to the university in good condition only. In an earlier interaction, Nagraj Manjule had said, “We don’t want to cause any inconvenience to the students and, as stated in the MoU, we will restore the ground before handing it over. There is no doubt about that.”
This ‘No Entry’ board (in pic), according to Manjule, is only for the trucks that bring in material for the set, so as to prevent any further damage to the ground
Interestingly, the university is not the only academic institute in the city that has doubled up as a shooting location. The city’s Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Deccan College, College of Agriculture, SP College, Symbiosis Institute (Lavale) and other colleges have served as shooting locations for umpteen films in the recent past. Even for the university, this is not the first time that a film being shot there. “Films, including The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Umbartha and Bobby, have been shot on campus,” informed Shaligram.
Complaints, reportedly from students, about entry being restricted to the ground have also been acted upon, say university authorities. It was reported that security persons from the filmmakers’ side had been turning away students, and a ‘No Entry board had also been put up near the entry point to the ground. “After it was brought to our notice, we informed the film’s team and they have refrained from putting up ‘No Entry’ signs and putting security persons near the entry gate. However, entry to the area where the set has been put up has been restricted to avoid any damage to the equipment,” informs Shaligram.
As per recent developments, the student bodies are on the verge of withdrawing their protests. Speaking about the same, Yadav informed, “We wanted this shoot to be beneficial for students and the ground to be back in its original condition after the shoot. The university authorities have assured us that both demands will be fulfilled so we are not stretching this issue any further.”
Satish Gore, member of another student body, added, “Though some of our demands have been promised to be fulfilled, we had asked for an alternative ground for students till the shoot is in progress. If that demand is met, we will be willing to withdraw our protest.”