The Centre has appointed Malayalam actor-BJP leader Suresh Gopi as president of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI).
The appointment does not seem to have gone down well with either Gopi or the students of SRFTI, a fully-funded autonomous institution under the Union ministry of information and broadcasting.
Gopi, sources in Kerala BJP said, is apparently miffed at the surprise assignment, suspected as a bid to keep him away from state politics months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls he intends to contest.
But he has not yet reacted to his new assignment.
The students’ union of the SRFTI has issued a formal statement opposing the appointment, citing his political affiliation.
A former Rajya Sabha member whose six-year term ended in April last year, Gopi, sources said, has been keenly preparing grounds to contest from the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency, where he finished third in the 2019 general election and again in the 2021 state polls. The Assembly seat is also called Thrissur.
The appointment was announced by the Union minister of information and broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday evening.
“Many congratulations to veteran film actor @TheSureshGopiji on being nominated the President of the @srfti_official society & chairman of the governing council of @srfti_official for a period of 3 years. Your vast experience & cinematic brilliance are surely going to enrich this esteemed institute. I wish you a fruitful tenure,” Thakur wrote on his handle.
Gopi, the sources said, has not taken it well.
“He is upset. He thinks it is a ploy to keep him out of mainstream politics in Kerala,” said a source in Kerala BJP.
This comes even as Gopi was busy taking up local issues in Thrissur and meeting residents in what many dubbed a pre-election campaign.
The students’ union of the SRFTI issued a detailed statement, opposing the appointment.
“SRFTI is an institution with a 25-year-old legacy that has produced remarkable films and filmmakers with diverse voices…. It is imperative that the individual selected to lead this institution embodies the values of artistic freedom, pluralism, and inclusivity that SRFTI stands for,” it said.
“Our concerns regarding Mr Suresh Gopi’s nomination revolve around his own association with Hindutva political ideologies and his alignment with the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has even expressed polarizing statements that threatened the secular fabric of this country. We believe that an individual’s close affiliation with any political party, especially one known for its polarizing positions, may compromise the principles of neutrality and artistic freedom that SRFTI upholds,” the statement said.
Amid speculation on whether Gopi would accept the position, Kerala BJP leader and the party’s national executive member P.K. Krishnadas said there was no reason why he wouldn’t.
“I don’t think he is unhappy about this. Usually, everyone happily accepts any decision taken by the central government or the Prime Minister,” Krishnadas told reporters on Friday.
Kerala BJP president K. Surendran termed the speculation over whether Gopi would accept the position as a “Congress agenda” to help Thrissur Lok Sabha member T.N. Prathapan in the next elections.
“The people of Thrissur have already accepted Suresh Gopi. No one can stop it,” Surendran posted on his Facebook page around noon on Friday.
It was not immediately clear if he wanted Gopi to stay back in Kerala.
But it is no secret that Gopi had angered a section of state party leaders by declaring at a public meeting that only “two of my leaders” — alluding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah — would take a call on fielding him from Thrissur in the Lok Sabha polls.
Gopi won the national award for best actor for his lead role in Kaliyattam, a critically acclaimed film which is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello. Directed by Jayaraj, the film won Gopi acclaim for the role of a pock-marked theyyam (a north Kerala folk art) artiste who suspects the loyalty of his wife.
But he is otherwise known for his over-the-top cop and soldier roles, which made him a favourite of Kerala’s troll army and mimics who frequently caricature
him. He is known for making equally dramatic speeches loaded with wild gesticulations during public meetings and even while talking to the media.
He was associated with the CPM’s campus wing, the Students Federation of India, while in college. After years in films, his political loyalty switched to the BJP.
