Pune: FTII Students protest against screening of ‘The Kerala Story’, clash erupts

On Saturday, students from the Film Television Institute of India (FTII) conducted a protest within the college campus in objection to the screening of the film 'The Kerala Story'. The film society MITEE had arranged the screening by renting out the Main Theatre space from FTII. However, the student body alleged that they were not notified about the screening arrangement.

According to the reports, Chandrakant Patil, the Guardian Minister of Pune and a prominent BJP leader, was expected to be the chief guest at the screening held at FTII but did not attend the event. Outside the theatre, the students organized demonstrations, which unfortunately resulted in minor clashes between two groups within the campus. In anticipation of potential student protests, the Pune City Police had already deployed their officials at the campus.

It is important to mention that a number of students within the campus are currently participating in a hunger strike to protest against the expulsion of a student from the 2020 batch by the college administration. Unfortunately, the health of one protesting student deteriorated on Friday, leading to their admission to the hospital.