IFFK 2023: Chalachithra Academy chairman Ranjith faces discontent, gets booed during closing ceremony

Meanwhile, the KSCA chairman invited the Academy staff onto the stage. These staff members had worked tirelessly to ensure the smooth execution of the film festival. This move prompted the viewers to stop booing Ranjith, allowing the workers to join the stage without facing embarrassment.

Last year, Ranjith came under intense scrutiny when some attendees were arrested for protesting at the IFFK after they were denied seats for Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Mammootty-starrer Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam, despite having reservations and waiting in line for hours. During the closing ceremony, when the audiences expressed disapproval, Ranjith compared them to street dogs, intensifying the controversy.

While discontent has lingered since Ranjith assumed the role of KSCA chairman in January last year, it reached unprecedented levels this year. Even members of the Academy openly expressed dissatisfaction with Ranjith’s conduct on several occasions. On December 14, a day before the festival’s conclusion, a group of nine members of the Academy’s general council held a meeting, and sent a letter to the state government, demanding Ranjith’s removal as KSCA chairman.

In the complaint, the nine members accused Ranjith of disregarding their opinions and described his decisions as arbitrary, Manorama Online reported. The nine members openly rebelling against the chairman are Manoj Kana, Cuckoo Parameswaran, N Arun, Mummy Centuary, Prakash Sreedhar, Shaibu Mundakkal, A S Jobu, Siby and Santhosh, according to the media house.

Speaking to Reporter TV, director Manoj Kana said that many of Ranjith’s recent remarks about his colleagues were in poor taste. Pointing out that each general council member has specific duties, Kana recalled that when Cuckoo Parameswaran recently approached Ranjith with a complaint, he dismissed her concerns, stating that “her services were no longer needed at the IFFK”. Stressing that Ranjith’s authoritative behaviour and arrogance were hindering their ability to work with him, Kana mentioned that they have submitted written complaints to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Culture and Youth Affairs Minister Saji Cherian and the Chalachithra Academy. Kana added, “In the formal complaint, we’ve insisted on either his self-correction or his removal from the position. Our stance is not against either the government or KSCA. Our objective is to prevent any negative impact on the reputation of both entities.”

Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Kana emphasised that their objection was solely directed at Ranjith’s elitist and autocratic behaviour. He stated, “Ranjith is disparaging everyone through interviews. This is not the Varikkasseri Mana location; this is the Chalachithra Academy.”

The controversy this year sparked when Ranjith, in an interview with The New Indian Express, made critical comments about renowned filmmaker Dr Biju, questioning the latter’s “relevance” based on the limited audience turnout for his recent release, Adrishya Jalakangal, which was also screened in the Kaleidoscope category of the recently concluded IFFK.

Meanwhile, following a strong critique of Ranjith, Dr Biju resigned from his position as a board member of the Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC). In the same TNIE interview, Ranjith also made controversial comments about actor Bheeman Reghu and criticised many others and their films, including Mohanlal and his dialogue delivery in P Padmarajan’s Thoovanathumbikal (1987).

However, amid all the controversies, Ranjith dismissed any discord on Friday, stating that everything is in order at the Academy. “Everything what’s been heard is the creation of the media. There has been no meeting at all, and those who are out in the open are only a few, as three of them whom they named have told me they did not take part in any meeting. There is no question of me resigning as there exists no such issue. If at all it happens, you (the media) will be the first to be told,” IANS quoted Ranjith as saying.

As both the Chief Minister and the Culture Minister are currently engaged in the government’s ongoing Nava Kerala Sadas program, an official response to the controversy is still pending. With the programme set to conclude in less than 10 days, a final decision on the matter is anticipated soon.

A screenwriter-turned-filmmaker, Ranjith has faced substantial criticism over the years for his films, which are often scrutinised for promoting elitism, misogyny and casteism within savarna narratives. He is widely recognised as an artist who has played a role in popularising regressive ideologies through Malayalam cinema.

Previously, popular filmmaker Vinayan had also levelled serious allegations against Ranjith, accusing him of influencing the Kerala State Film Award committee. In a series of Facebook posts, Vinayan alleged that Ranjith misused his power as Chalachitra Academy chairman and tried to prevent his latest movie Pathonpatham Noottandu from receiving major awards.