As FTII Congratulates Ex-Student Payal Kapadia, Ali Fazal Reminds It Of Action Against Her

Payal’s film ‘All We Imagine as Light’ has been feted with the ‘Le Grand Prix’ award at the film festival. On Sunday, the FTII, Payal’s Alma Mater congratulated her and her team on their win. “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,” they wrote on X.

Ali registered a strong disagreement as he called out FTII. He wrote, “Uhhh… please don’t. Just don’t.” FTII had earlier initiated disciplinary action against Payal for protesting over the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman of the Film & Television Institute of India, Pune back in 2015.

The students argued that he didn't have the credibility, owing to his work in B-movies, to head a premier institution like FTII. An FIR was filed against Payal and 34 other students for holding FTII director Prashant Pathrabe captive in his office in 2015.