Kolkata: Tollywood’s deafening silence over the SRFTI controversy—especially from those alumni who were once vocal about the protests—has intensified following the termination of two professors, also institute alumni.While alumni members unanimously vouched for the excellence of the terminated faculty members as educators, they were divided over the course of the student movement. Cinematographer Manas Bhattacharyya, a fifth-batch alumnus known for ‘Pinjar’, backed the students. Stressing his connection with professors of editing and cinematography whose contracts were terminated, he said, “Both were a year senior to me at SRFTI. They are exceptional teachers and industry professionals. The editing and cinematography departments will suffer unless the orders are revoked. I don’t know how a professor can receive a show-cause notice merely for intervening to allow the entry of a reputed cinematographer.” While he is in solidarity with the students’ movement, he declined to judge silent alumni. “It is their personal choice and priority,” Bhattacharyya said.Post the Sept 27 clash, director Avijit Sen, an SRFTI alumnus from the third batch, had visited the campus multiple times and met injured students at the hospital. But the director of ‘Tonic’, ‘Pradhan’ and ‘Prajapati’ and reality shows ‘Dadagiri’, ‘Didi No 1’, and ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’, is now conspicuously absent from the movement. “I went to my institute even after police were posted… I was not allowed to enter. I fail to understand why SRFTI rents out the property to those unrelated to film-making. I’m pained at the termination of the contracts of the faculty members, who were my juniors. I am now with the Hindi ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’ shooting and pre-production for my next film. I have little bandwidth for other things. But that is not the only reason why I am absent from the protests now,” he said. Pointing out he disapproves of the direction the agitation has taken, Sen said, “I can never support a movement, where graffiti are against constitutional heads of the country or against any political party… We never allowed politics to enter the students’ movements. It should be a movement related to the betterment of education and nothing else. I feel some are using this movement to further their own political agenda and I don’t want to get dragged into that politics.”Other alumni in Tollywood told TOI their absence stemmed from the demanding freelance schedules required to stay afloat in a competitive industry. Maintaining a livelihood left little room for continuous protest participation, they said.
Discover more from updatview
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
