New Cinema Kolkata
At the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Kolkata, students spend their days between improvised sets, exercises and film shoots. It is here that a new generation of Indian filmmakers is being shaped, directors, editors and screenwriters. Named after the legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray, one of the most influential directors of the twentieth century, the school is one of India’s leading public film institutes and among the most important in the country. Established as a government institution, it now sits at the center of the country’s political and cultural transformations, serving as a national reference point for film education, a space where cinematic imagination is developed and explored, a true factory of dreams.
In recent years, however, the work of filmmakers in India has increasingly taken place within a more restrictive environment. All films must be approved by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), established in 1952. While officially responsible for classifying films, the board has been repeatedly criticized for requesting cuts, modifications or delays in the release of works considered politically or socially sensitive. High-profile cases such as Udta Punjab and Lipstick Under My Burkha have fueled public debate around the role of the CBFC and the limits of freedom of expression in Indian cinema, particularly under governments led by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
This climate is also reflected within educational institutions. In 2023, the appointment of actor and politician Suresh Gopi to a prominent role within the institute sparked protests among students, who expressed concerns about the school’s autonomy and the risk of political interference. Similar protests had already taken place in 2015 at the Film and Television Institute of India, where the appointment of a government-affiliated figure triggered nationwide demonstrations.
This is not always a matter of explicit censorship, but rather of a more diffuse presence that operates in subtler ways: through the anticipation of limits, self-regulation and a constant negotiation between what one would like to express and what can actually be shown. “We are still making films, but we think more carefully about what we show.” Production continues. Films are still being written, shot and edited. But the creative process unfolds within a system in which the boundaries of expression are increasingly perceived as restricted and unstable.
