It’s too early to say that one more Red bastion has fallen, but one may safely surmise that the Leftist foundation has shaken
Devidas Deshpande from Pune
The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), once the bastion of Leftists and naxals, has just made a spectacular turnaround. It stands today as a witness to how the nationalistic thoughts can bring about a change even in seemingly wayward establishment. The campus where once only liquor and ‘liberalism’ ruled, is now abuzz with the spirit of nationalism.
The January 26, 2017 will stand as the day of reversal in this hallowed institution that saw the insult of the National Flag not long ago. A large
number of people in Pune gladly visited the representation of the Cellular Jail at the FTII on the occasion of the Republic Day this year.
The FTII put up the replica of the Cellular Jail, a spectacular model depicted the horrible environs of the jail in Andaman. It was the tribute to freedom fighters who were incarcerated in the Andaman. The structure measuring 50ft L X 22ft W X 14ft H covered buildings of the Jail. The places like Savarkar Cell facing the execution cell for demoralising the prisoners, Oil mill (kolu), and unique latching system were highlighted. Some statues of English men rebuking the prisoners added to the manners of severe
punishments in the Jail. The representation was more of horrifying memories of Cellular Jail. The structure was erected by Ashutosh Kavishwar, HOD and his team of students and employees of Art Direction and Production Design Department, said Dr Chandrashekhar Joshi, the Film Research Officer at FTII.
Indian Express quoted Prof Kavishwar saying “Inspired by the government’s programme —Aazadi ke 70 Saal – Zara Yaad Karo Kurbani’ (70 years of Independence: recall the
sacrifices), we prepared a replica of Jallianwala Bagh on August 15, 2016. We decided to do the same for the Republic Day and planned a replica of the Cellular Jail. We are a group of 40, including professors, students and staffers of FTII, who have worked hard for a month on the project. It will be displayed till January 31”.
This was the second time that such an event took place in the FTII where martyrs and freedom fighters were remembered. The replica was open for the public viewing at FTII main gate from January 25 to 31. The special attraction of the jail proved to be the Veer Savarkar’s cell that was recreated in minute details. This was a next step of the opening up of FTII to the very people for whom it was meant.
After remaining confined to the film fraternity for about five decades, the gates of the FTII started to open for ordinary citizens since last year. It was when the new dispensation came in and that was not without opposition. The so-called students of the FTII managed to create bad air about the “dictatorship and fascism” by the central government when it replaced the oldmanagement. The new body, under Chairman Gajendra Chauhan, took over the management and the matters started looking brighter. The starting point was the Open Days in the FTII.
“I am in deep gratitude of all citizens for making the Open Days at FTII, on September 17 and 18, 2016, a resounding success. The enthusiasm witnessed in the campus was unprecedented. From school children to octogenarians, from college students (from as far as Kolhapur, Baramati, and Thane) to housewives, visitors overwhelmed me by their presence,” said Chauhan then.
FTII is touted to be the India’s best Film and Television school with an illustrious past and a vibrant present. However, this legacy was somehow inaccessible to the very citizens whose love, support and encouragement allowed this premier Institution to reach the heights it has.
“This was the first Open Days of its kind in the history of FTII but “just two days in 56 years” is not enough. Citizens and the people of Maharashtra must surely get more opportunities to visit the campus, explore the legacy and absorb the creativity that blooms in FTII. There will be more open days in future where FTII will throw open its gates for not just the general public but also for the Institutions of the city,” he added.
Since its foundation, the Leftists called the shots in FTII through their cronies in the form of students who stayed there for years. So much so that they dictated the terms for appointing directors and making it nearly impossible for anyone with a discipline to stay here for long. Girish Karnad, Mohan Agashe and Mahesh Bhatt were the few names who could never be alleged to have a saffron tinge. However, all of them left the FTII with a bitter aftertaste because of this intolerance from within.
What was the situation prevalent in FTII when the government tried to change its character? One does not need to look much elsewhere. “I was kept in illegal confinement (in my office) by the students for 8-10 hours on Monday (17 August 2015) night. About 40-50 people came in when six were asked to come. After the discussion on the agenda of ‘assessment’, when I told them my decision, they said we would not allow me to go. Initially, I refused to call the police but even after 3-4 hours when they did not give up, I had to call police…They tortured me by using interrogation techniques, verbal assault including asking the same question and continuously threatened me to take the decision back. They also indulged in disrespectful and insulting behaviour (including saying if cannot answer their questions or take back the decision I was inefficient or incapable) which I have mentioned to the police.”
These are but only few lines describing the trauma of Prashant Pathrabe, an IAS officer who was the newly appointed director of the FTII. These lines form the part of the First Inquiry Report (FIR) filed by him in a police station in Pune while he read them out next day in a shaking voice indicating his mental agony.
During the same agitation quoted above, the hooliganism of the ‘spirited’ students did not stop at hurling abuses at the director, which these students relentlessly describe as ‘an institution of highest standard and intellectual freedom’. They broke the furniture, telephones, wires, computers in the director’s office and still claimed to lead a peaceful agitation.
Last year, in an informal chat with journalists, Rahul Solapurkar, one of the members of the new executive, had said, “The problem with this institute is that it is not included among the educational institutes. Thus, prescribing a specific curriculum is difficult. The naxal and Left element take advantage of this situation to camp here for years”.
Solapurkar had also narrated how the students had disrespected the national flag on a Republic Day almost two decaded ago. “After flag hoisting, the then Chairman had flown to New Delhi as he was to go on foreign tour. However, the students insulted the national flag before it was taken down in the evening. That forced him to abort his plan and return to Pune immediately,” he had said.
One must see the recent development on this background. Visualising a place called as Kala Pani in an out-and-out Red institution is a no mean thing. Not long ago, the walls of the campus were painted with parodied pictures depicting the Chauhan and the NDA Government in a bad light. One had only to look at the walls of historic Prabhat Studio and Director’s office that they have littered with gaudy graffiti and paintings, to assess the damage, not to speak of the coarse slogans.
When the same surrounding resonates with a patriotic vocalism, it surely marks a paradigm shift. It is too early to say that one more Red bastion has fallen, but one may safely surmise that the Leftist foundation has shaken.
