Many perceive ragging as a friendly joke, says director Manish Gupta

“Making a film on an important issue is not enough. Ensuring that it reaches its target audience is more important.” It is with this philosophy that writer-director Manish Gupta has embarked on a promotional campaign for his new film Hostel across colleges in the country.

The movie, which was made out of “sheer anger and disgust at the cruel and unacceptable practice of ragging”, is loosely based on the life of Aman Kachroo.

The 19-year-old medical student was beaten to death in a hostel in Himachal Pradesh in 2009.

“There is a lot of ignorance about ragging in India. Most people perceive it as a friendly joke amongst students, a notion that is being been strengthened by recent mainstream Hindi films that depict it as a funny experience,” says Gupta.

The director adds that the objective of his anti-ragging campaign is to create awareness so that students can be better prepared to prevent it from happening to them.

“We stress on the horrific consequences of ragging through video clips compiled from the film and have debates and discussions on the topic,” says Gupta.

The filmmaker and his team also share the number of the anti-ragging helpline set up by the government.

The campaign was kicked off in Delhi and has since covered several colleges in Mumbai including IIT Powai, Jai Hind, Ruia, Lala Lajpat Rai, KJ Somaiya, Mithibai and National colleges. Next on the agenda is interaction with collegians in other Indian cities.

Gupta says that an incident from his days as an engineering student in Mumbai in 1993 opened his eyes to how far ragging can go.

“A group of boys from Manipal University once narrated how a friend of theirs was stripped and raped every night by his seniors.”

“Sadly, students who suffer silently at the hands of their seniors in turn vent their frustration by ragging juniors in the following years.

Thus, this cruel practice continues and claims the lives and careers of innumerable students,” he adds.

Hostel is not just based on the Kachroo case but on 25 ragging incidents that have grabbed national headlines over the years. It is set in an engineering college in Satara where an intelligent but reserved Mumbai boy is a victim of abuse and torture. Vatsal Sheth is cast in the lead role.

Gupta reveals that he had approached Shahid Kapur and then Kunal Khemu for the role but they declined as there are some scenes of stripping and molestation.