Manish Guptas Hostel inspired by Aman Kachroo case

Director Manish Gupta,the writer of Sarkar and director of The Stoneman Murders,is on a mission with his latest flick,Hostel. He has exposed the ugly side of ragging in colleges in the film and hopes to create awareness about it. This sadistic practice has become a ritual wherein students are stripped,paraded naked and molested by their seniors. Since victims find it humiliating to report sexual abuse to their parents or others,most ragging-related crimes go unreported. At least 30 ragging-related deaths have been reported in the last seven years, said the director.

Though Gupta was incensed by ragging ever since his college days,when he heard how a student from Manipal was raped by his seniors,the impetus to make a film came with the Aman Kachroo case. 19 year-old Aman was beaten to death because he refused to given into his seniors demands. The case has been in the limelight because his father demanded justice,otherwise people perceive ragging as a joke. But the fact remains that ragging can turn very ugly, said the filmmaker,who is planning 53 anti-ragging trips to colleges in cities like Mumbai and Delhi amongst others.

The film,which stars Vatsal Sheth,Mukesh Tiwari and Tulip Joshi,releases on January 21.