Cannes, France

Bollywood actor Ali Fazal called out the hypocrisy of the Film & Television Institute of India, Pune as the film institute congratulated and celebrated its alumnus Payal Kapadia's historic Grand Prix win at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

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It so happened that FTII shared a picture of Payal on X and wrote, “It is a moment of pride for FTII as its Alumni create history at Cannes. As we witness a phenomenal year for Indian Cinema at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, FTII cherishes the glorious achievements of its Alumni at this Mega International Stage of Cinema."

Responding to FTII's post, Ali Fazal wrote on X, "Uhhh… please don’t. Just dont."

Back in 2015, the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) and Payal were at odds as the institute took disciplinary action against students for leading a protest against the appointment of actor-turned-politician Gajendra Chauhan as the FTII president. The protesters argued that Chauhan didn't have the credibility to head a premier institution like FTII. 

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Also read: From FTII to Cannes Grand Prix: A look at Payal Kapadia’s trailblazing life

At the time, Pune Police filed a chargesheet against 35 students, including Payal, for holding then-FTII director Prashant Pathrabe captive in his office after his decision to assess incomplete projects of students from the 2008 batch. 

Several students along with Payal were denied scholarships. However, in 2017, the new FTII director Bhupendra Kainthola made efforts to course-correct and issued a letter of support. FTII also covered Payal's travel expenses to the 2017 Cannes Film Festival for the screening of her short film Afternoon Clouds. It was the only Indian film that was selected for the 70th Cannes Film Festival

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Also read: Meet Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha from All We Imagine As Light, 2024 Grand Prix winner at Cannes

All We Imagine as Light is about two Malayali nurses, living in Mumbai, who embark on a road trip to a beach town where "the mystical forest becomes a space for their dreams to manifest."