On Saturday, the JNU Student’s Union disrupted the shoot of Sudhir Mishra’s upcoming web series. The filmmaker had taken necessary permissions and paid for a nine-day shoot schedule for his web series, which is on the Emergency period in India. On Sunday, while the shoot went on, a group of students also sat in protest.

Anubhav Sinha, who was present on JNU campus during the shoot with Sudhir Mishra, told us, “Sudhir and I spoke to the students and they were very cordial to us and the crew. They didn’t have any problem with the shooting or the film. All the claims about unruly conduct by students are not true. Their issue was with the administration of the university. They want that the students should be involved in the decision-making when such a big event (the nine-day shoot) is taking place in the campus. The concerns of the students are logical, and it needs a conversation with the admin, which they will hopefully have. The students told us that it is between them and admin, it has nothing to do with the shoot.”

As per the statements given by the union, they have three issues:

- On March 31, a female student was harassed on campus, allegedly by two former students and two current students. The union claims that the admin and campus security have not done anything to address the incident, adding that “it is appalling that at a time when the campus security is unable to ensure the safety and security of its own students, such a large number of outsiders have been allowed inside.” On Wednesday, 21 students who protested the lack of action in the harassment complaint were sent notices by the admin for blocking the campus gate.

- One of the places where the shooting is taking place is the administration block. The union has asked why shooting (especially of a protest scene) is being allowed in a place where even students are not allowed to gather and protest. In Dec 2023, the university had banned protests in that block. The show’s crew told us that the shooting is taking place in the admin block since it’s a period drama.

- The JNUSU has also said, “We are not against the web series or its team. But we won’t allow any kind of commercialization to take place on campus.” Adding that “it was only a matter of time when our campus will be used to make films against us.”

Amar, from the show’s crew, said, “On Saturday, when the shoot moved to the admin block, a group of students objected to the filming. After the shoot was stopped, JNU admin officials arrived on campus, and we had a meeting with students and the officials. JNUSU students agreed to allow us to shoot on Sunday, but they made it clear that they would not permit it after that.”

A senior JNU official told us, “JNUSU has no authority in this matter as the permission for filmmaking has been given by following a due process. The permission rules have been in place for nearly two decades. Scores of students are participating in the production process on campus from JNU Centre for Media Studies, Arts and Aesthetics, JNU drama, theatre and film club. This gives students massive industry exposure and opportunity to interact with top filmmakers. The administration held a detailed conversation with JNUSU and conveyed that due permissions have been taken.”