Veteran filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan is facing backlash over comments he made about government grants for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and women filmmakers in Kerala. A Dalit activist, Dinu Veyil, has filed formal complaints with the Kerala State SC/ST Commission and the Museum Police Station in Thiruvananthapuram, alleging that Gopalakrishnan’s remarks were discriminatory and violated provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The controversy stems from Gopalakrishnan’s statements at the recent Kerala Film Policy Conclave, where he criticised the Kerala State Film Development Corporation’s (KSFDC) initiative to provide Rs 1.5 crore in funding to filmmakers from marginalised communities. He described the grant amount as excessive and said that it could lead to corruption. He further suggested reducing the grant to Rs 50 lakh and offering recipients ‘intensive training’ for three months before disbursing the funds.
Dinu Veyil, in his complaint and a detailed Facebook post, accused the filmmaker of making sweeping generalisations that paint SC/ST individuals as dishonest or prone to misuse public funds. He cited Section 3(1)(u) and Section 3(1)(r) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, arguing that Gopalakrishnan’s remarks could incite prejudice and amount to public humiliation of an entire community.
“The statement implies that members of the SC/ST communities are inherently corrupt or irresponsible when given access to public resources. Such narratives foster social hostility and reinforce harmful stereotypes.,” Veyil wrote on his social media post.
Veyil added that even though the filmmaker did not target specific individuals, his comments affected all SC/ST beneficiaries associated with the scheme and those present at the event, past applicants, and the wider community observing the discussion through media channels.
The remarks triggered a strong response from Kerala's Minister for Cultural Affairs, Saji Cherian, who defended the state’s inclusive film policy. Speaking at the same conclave, the minister called the initiative a historic corrective measure to address decades of exclusion in the Malayalam film industry. “This is a landmark step to bring SC/ST and other underrepresented communities into mainstream cinema. The government stands firmly by this policy,” Cherian said, making it clear that the initiative would continue.
The Kerala government’s film grant scheme was introduced as part of a broader effort to democratise the filmmaking landscape by supporting first-time directors from historically marginalised communities. Adoor Gopalakrishnan has not issued a public response to the complaints as yet.
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