Actor and filmmaker Prakash Raj, the chief guest at the 28th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), emphasized the importance of people being cautious about the narratives being constructed in the country. During the IFFK closing ceremony on Friday, he specifically highlighted the incident of the Parliament security breach.
“We need to be careful since we know the kind of narratives that are being built around us. There is a narrative now being constructed around those six youngsters (involved in the Parliament attack case) who wanted to protest. We have a group of journalists who are fighting like jokers with the bomb for their TRP rating; we have the (narrative about) Opposition party blaming the ruling party that they are terrorists. We have the ruling party saying the Opposition party is caught with the photo of a youngster. There is also a narrative about the security of the Parliament. However, will there be a narrative or dialogue that will discuss what made the youngsters do what they did?” asked the actor, who has always been vocal against the Right-wing Union government and politics.
He also questioned whether there will be a narrative that discusses how desperate the youngsters of the country are due to joblessness. “Will there also be a dialogue on how frustrating it is not to have an answer regarding Manipur?” he said. “I feel it's beautiful to be part of this festival that lets me see, discuss, and hear,” he said to the audience, who cheered the actor.
The actor also spoke about the importance of such festivals and how his vision and perceptions were shaped by a similar festival like the IFFK. “I don't see this festival just as an award event but as a festival that gives fair chances to youngsters and citizens of the country to see different perceptions and dimensions of world cinema,” he said.
