Adoor Gopalakrishnan (file)
Veteran filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s controversial statements at the Kerala Film Policy Conclave on the Kerala government’s project to promote filmmakers from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) communities and the one for women filmmakers kicked up a storm on Monday (August 4, 2025), with Ministers, Dalit activists and filmmakers criticising him for his stand.
Dalit activist Dinu Veyil filed a complaint under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act with the Museum Police in Thiruvananthapuram and the Kerala State SC/ST Commission against the filmmaker.
Mr. Gopalakrishnan had said the government’s project under which ₹1.5 crore is provided to aspiring women filmmakers and those from the SC/ST communities would pave the way for corruption. The intent behind the project is good, but they should be given at least three months of intensive training to make films, he had said, calling for a reduction in the amount to ₹50 lakh.
Minister for Cultural Affairs Saji Cherian had disagreed with him on stage and said “even ₹1.5 crore is insufficient to make quality films in these times.” He also stressed upon the need to support filmmakers from these communities as they “have not got any mainstream opportunities in the almost 100-year-old history of Malayalam cinema.”
In a Facebook post on Sunday seemingly referring to Mr. Gopalakrishnan’s comments, Higher Education Minister R. Bindu wrote that “it doesn’t matter if all the time spent in the global film platforms does not lead to a broadening of the mind and turn you into a better human”.
Speaking to the media on Monday, she said it was the responsibility of democratic institutions to ensure justice for communities “who had been denied the same for thousands of years.”
“It is the government’s responsibility to aid not just the creative expression of women and those from the SC/ST communities, but to bring them to mainstream leadership roles in all spheres of life. This project is one of the best interventions that the Culture department has taken up,” she said.
Filmmaker Bijukumar Damodaran, who said he is a filmmaker from an SC community who has made 15 award-winning movies without any training, accused Mr. Gopalakrishnan of insisting on intensive training only in the case of SC/ST and women filmmakers “because he is using a separate lens to look at them.”
Adoor doubles down on his criticism
Meanwhile, in an interaction with the media, Mr. Gopalakrishnan doubled down on his criticism and said he was “not against providing financial assistance to anyone, but the beneficiaries should be provided adequate training and orientation before the disbursal of funds.”
He also reiterated his demand that the amount of ₹1.5 crore for each filmmaker should be reduced to ₹50 lakh and divided among three filmmakers from these communities, thus giving opportunities to more people.
‘Have not insulted anyone’
“I have not insulted anyone. If anyone can prove from the recorded visuals that I have, I can apologise. I am not responsible for the interpretations of my speech. My intention was that they should be provided a proper understanding of the cinema medium. Without that, they will end up not going any further than this one film. They shouldn’t disappear after making one film. I am speaking for them, not against them. Many of those who made films through the project had complaints because they lacked knowledge about filmmaking and the processes involved. The Culture Minister does not know that filmmaking is a specialist job that requires years of experience because he is not a specialist in cinema. He shouldn’t have defended the project,” he said.
Criticises singer
Mr. Gopalakrishnan also criticised singer Pushpavathy who raised voices of protest against him during his speech at the conclave and questioned those, including the Ministers, present “for not stopping her.”
Published – August 04, 2025 01:16 pm IST
