Kerala: DYFI to screen Patwardhan's 1992 'Ram Ke Naam' documentary in front of film institute

Kottayam (Kerala), Jan 23 (PTI) A day after the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth outfit of the ruling CPI (M), announced that they would screen the documentary "Ram Ke Naam" in front of a state-run film institute in this district on Tuesday evening.

Helmed by award-winning director Anand Patwardhan, the 1992 documentary explores the campaign waged by the Vishva Hindu Parishad to build a Ram temple at the then disrupted site in Ayodhya, as well as the communal violence that it triggered.

Though the students of the K R Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts here tried to screen the documentary in front of their college on Monday, they were forced to shift the screening venue inside the campus following the protests staged by some local BJP functionaries and right wing activists.

The students' union of the institute tried to screen the documentary by 9.30 pm on Monday.

Over 40 students, including girls, were there to watch the screening. But BJP functionaries rushed to the spot and allegedly threatened them to stop it, the students alleged.

Police, who rushed to the spot in view of the tense atmosphere, requested the students to screen the documentary inside the campus and they agreed to it.

The DYFI leadership on Tuesday announced that they would screen the "Ram Ke Naam" documentary in front of the college gate this evening as students were not allowed to do the same by the BJP and right wing activists.

"We will screen the documentary by 7 pm today in front of the institute... near its gate. The screening will be held at the same spot where the students tried to screen the movie on Monday," DYFI central committee member Jaick C Thomas told PTI.

He said a nearby panchayat is ruled by the BJP and some people from there came and created issues against the screening.

Earlier, the DYFI leader put out a Facebook post saying that "Ram Ke Naam" would be screened anywhere (in the state).

It will be screened in front of the K R Narayanan Institute also, he said, and challenged the Sangh activists to block it. PTI