The controversy started when FTII’s official Twitter handle shared pictures of Payal Kapadia and fellow alumnus Chidanand Naik, who won the La Cinef Award for Best Short Film for “Sunflowers Were The First Ones To Know.” FTII’s post read, “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.”
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In response, Ali Fazal reposted FTII’s message with the blunt caption, “Uhhh… please don’t. Just don’t.” This reaction stems from a contentious history between Kapadia and FTII. Back in 2015, Kapadia led a student protest against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as FTII president, arguing he lacked the necessary credentials. As a result, disciplinary action was taken against her and other protesting students.
Further, in a 2015 incident, Payal Kapadia and 34 other students were charge-sheeted by Pune Police for holding then-FTII director Prashant Pathrabe captive. This was after Pathrabe decided to assess incomplete projects of students from the 2008 batch. Payal Kapadia and her peers were also denied scholarships during this challenging period.
However, in 2017, under new FTII director Bhupendra Kainthola, the institute attempted to mend relations by issuing a letter of support and covering Payal Kapadia’s travel expenses to Cannes for the screening of her short film “Afternoon Clouds.”
