IIT-M to screen ‘most controversial’ campus film

The film recently premiered at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus after being refused screening, at the height of the sedition row, as the authorities feared it might lead to a tense situation on campus at that time. 

Following the JNU screening, the film was showcased at IIT Gandhinagar, SP Jain School of Global Management, Mumbai and IIT Bombay earlier this month. The film, which is directed by Vivek Agnihotri and features an ensemble cast comprising Anupam Kher, Mahi Gill, Arunoday Singh and Pallavi Joshi is being touted as a hard-hitting stand against ‘intellectual terrorism.’ 

The team behind the feature chose to showcase the film to students in various colleges around the country before the actual theatrical release (planned on May 16) as the youth is the intended audience of this film.

Naireeta Dasgupta, the Director’s Assistant on the film tells us, “We had previously shown our film to the students and staff at JNU during a time when the situation there was volatile. However, we got a standing ovation from the 4,000-plus crowd that had gathered there to watch the film in the open air theatre.” 

The film, which is being promoted as the most controversial film in India, tackles issues such as political activism on campus, the Naxalite movement and the brainwashing of naive youngsters by opportunistic politicians. 

Naireeta says, “Our film throws light on a subject rarely breached in Bollywood. Students living in affluent metropolitan milieus are often oblivious to the realities of campuses in small towns, and how intertwined politics is with campus life in such regions. Without taking sides, the film lays bare the ideologies of those involved in shaping the mindsets of students as they are today – whether it’s the teachers, the statesmen, or society as a whole.”