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Belittling the students protest against casteism at the KR Narayanan Institute in Kerala and criticising the government project to fund SC/ST and women filmmakers, renowned filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan made a controversial speech at the conclusion of the film policy conclave in Thiruvananthapuram on August 3.
“I have not yet made a film [that cost] beyond Rs 2 crore, yet the government is giving Rs 1.5 crore to SC/ST filmmakers. This would pave the way for corruption, I had warned them, but there is still no change. The intention may be good, but the filmmakers need months of intense training before they make films,” Adoor said.
He further said that the amount given to the filmmakers should be reduced from Rs. 1.5 crore to Rs 50 lakh. “All of the filmmakers, selected through the project, have complaints. They think they can just take the funds and go to make their films. They should be told that these are public funds. The amount given should be reduced so that they know all the difficulties of making a film. These funds are not for making commercial films or superstar films, it is for making good cinema. The same goes for women. You don't just give funds because they are women, they should also be trained,” Adoor said.
As he spoke, Dalit singer Pushpavathy rose to raise her protest but she was shushed by someone around her and not given a mic, even as Adoor asked what the question was.
As he continued his speech, however, Adoor made other problematic references. He brought up the strike by students of the KR Narayanan institute against alleged casteist actions of the director Shankar Mohan, which finally resulted in his resignation. Adoor, who was chairman and came to the defence of Shankar, had also resigned. At the conclave, he reiterated his stand, calling Shankar a great man and the strike unnecessary. He claimed that the two of them had raised the standards of a mostly neglected film school but had to leave when it was beginning to do really well.
Earlier in his speech, there was also an elitist flavour when he recounted an experience of watching a film at the Sree theatre and saw the back door being pushed by ‘a gang of workers from Chala’ who wanted to watch a ‘scene of sex’. “It was after that we decided that film festivals should not be open to everyone, but only to those who can appreciate cinema, those who study or write about films. That is how we began to take a delegate fee and close the festival to members. But now, half the delegates stand outside the theatres for the festival. It is time to increase the delegate fee,” Adoor said.
In his report about the discussions at the conclave, Minister for Cultural Affairs Saji Cherian addressed the remarks that Adoor made about the project to fund SC/ST and women filmmakers.
“For 98 years (since the first Malayalam film was made), filmmakers from the SC/ST community had not got an opportunity to rise to the mainstream. And how many women have made films in Malayalam cinema? This is one of the best projects that the government has undertaken. The filmmakers were chosen after a committee of experts closely examined their work and found it meritorious. All the films that came out of this project have been exceptional. We also want to recognise and give space to the work of gender and other minorities as well as people with disabilities,” Minister Saji said.
Singer Pushpavathy, who was shushed down when she rose to protest, later said that the Minister’s reply had been precise.
“I had felt bad that no one on the dais was reacting [to what Adoor said]. And when he made these remarks, many had greeted it with applause. I have respect for him, and for his work, but I have to say this. The SC/ST community was oppressed for hundreds of years. Our forefathers had lived as slaves without an income of their own. We got to have an education only decades ago. The film policy is meant to address all of such concerns but his outlook seemed anti progressive. It should be opposed and our government has made it clear that they have rejected his opinion.”