CPI(M) condemns Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s position that would-be filmmakers from marginalised sections and women require intense training

Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] Kerala State secretary M.V. Govindan has condemned award-winning director Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s purported statement at a government-sponsored film conclave on Saturday that aspirant filmmakers hailing from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) communities, and also women, require at least “three weeks of intense” training before getting State funding for movies and documentaries.

Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday (August 5, 2025), Mr. Govindan stated that Mr. Gopalakrishnan had claimed his words at the recent cinema conclave were in good faith and subsequently misconstrued. 

“Mr. Gopalakrishnan says he did not mean them. Nonetheless, the colloquy smacked of feudal putrescence. Such discourses are an injustice to a modern, democratic and progressive society such as ours,” he said.

Mr. Govindan said Kerala had relegated the oppressive caste system, which he termed an “artificial feudal-era construct to rank human merit and assign positions in society in a prejudiced manner, to the dustbin of history.”

“Kerala has walked forward a lot, outpacing a decadent era. The Culture Minister had stated the party and the government’s position at the conclave. Kerala is the home of a progressive populace shaped by working-class struggles and the Renaissance and progressive movements. That keen awareness should inform everyone’s acts and words”, he said.  

Mr. Gopalakrishnan had courted controversy by bracketing would-be filmmakers among women and also those hailing from marginalised sections of society for rigorous training.

He also demanded transparency and stressed the need for due process, including vetting at the granular level of film productions subsidised by the government. 

Mr. Gopalakrishnan also stated that some State-funded productions lacked artistic merit and were budgeted excessively to siphon off public money, which he said could be better spent for the needy and homeless. 

Mr. Gopalakrishnan’s position had drawn criticism for being allegedly misogynistic and feudal. Subsequently, the Kerala State Commission for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes took cognisance of the matter. It sought a report from the Museum Police to examine whether Mr. Gopalakrishnan’s purported statement violated the provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities Act).