Protest-Struck Kerala Film School 'Relieved' as Saeed Mirza Appointed Chairman

Veteran filmmaker Saeed Akhtar Mirza was appointed the chairman of KR Narayanan film school, Kerala.

Veteran filmmaker Saeed Akhtar Mirza was appointed as chairman of KR Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts by Kerala government

(Image: The Quint/@Vibhushita Singh)

On Thursday, 23 February, acclaimed director and screenwriter Saeed Akhtar Mirza was appointed as chairman of KR Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts.

The announcement came nearly a month after ex-chairman and filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan resigned amid massive students' protests against alleged caste discrimination at the institute.

Saeed Akhter Mirza

(Photo: The News Minute)

How are the students and the faculty reacting? Speaking to The Quint, Jithin Narayanan, a second-year student at the institute said, "All my friends and I are very happy that we finally have a new chairman. Mirza is such a renowned filmmaker. We are excited and looking forward to learning a lot from him."

A still of Saeed Mirza

(Photo: Twitter)

"We are very happy that the Kerala government has appointed the new chairman and hope we get a new director soon."

Rajkumar Roy, HoD Department of Screenwriting

He added, "I was Mirza's student, attending his workshops back when I studied at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTI). I'm glad we have him now to teach my students."

Who is Saeed Akhter Mirza? A veteran filmmaker, Mirza, ruled the Indian parallel cinema in the 1970s. He has directed many critically acclaimed films, including the national award-winning, Naseem. He has also made famous Hindi TV serials like Nukkad and Intezaar. Earlier, Mirza had a stint as the Pune Film Institute’s chairman.

Why were students protesting at the film school? At the institute claimed that former director Shankar Mohan discriminated against them based on their caste. Sanitation workers in the institute alleged that they were forced to clean toilets in the director’s residence with bare hands.

In the wake of a 50-day-long student protest in December 2022, following serious allegations levelled against him, Mohan stepped down as the institute's director on 21 January. Filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, who had supported Mohan, too resigned on 31 January. Till Thursday, Finance Offficer Shibu Abraham was temporarily in charge of the day-to-day administrative affairs of the institute.