‘If India Is Proud Of Payal Kapadia, Shouldn’t Your Govt…’: Shashi Tharoor’s Dig At PM Modi

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor Tuesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi that his government should “withdraw cases” against Cannes Film Festival winner Payal Kapadia and other FTII students “if India is proud of her”.

Taking a swipe at the Prime Minister after he lauded director Payal Kapadia for winning the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival, Tharoor asked if India is proud of her, shouldn’t the Modi government immediately withdraw the “cases” against her and fellow FTII students.

“Modi ji, if India is proud of her, should your government not immediately #WithdrawTheCases against her and fellow FTII students protesting against your government’s arbitrary appointment of an unqualified Chairman?,” the Congress leader asked in a post on X.

Last week, Payal Kapadia became the first Indian filmmaker to win the Grand Prix award, the second highest honour at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, for her Malayalam-Hindi feature film “All We Imagine As Light”.

Following the win, PM Modi had said the country is proud of her.

“India is proud of Payal Kapadia for her historic feat of winning the Grand Prix at the 77th Cannes Film Festival for her work ‘All We Imagine as Light’. An alumnus of FTII, her remarkable talent continues to shine on the global stage, giving a glimpse of the rich creativity in India. This prestigious accolade not only honours her exceptional skills but also inspires a new generation of Indian filmmakers,” Modi had said in a May 26 post on X.

Notably, in 2015, Kapadia was one of the protesting students who went on strike to oppose actor-politician Gajendra Chauhan’s appointment as the chairperson of the Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).

The protesting students had argued that Chauhan did not match the vision and stature of past chairmen of the FTII governing council, and his appointment appeared “politically coloured”

During the 139-day strike, the students had also allegedly gheraoed and confined the then FTII director Prashant Pathrabe in his office over some academic issues. This had led to the police entering the campus and arresting some of the protesters.

(With PTI inputs)