When Dalit student Rohith Vemula's suicide touched Bollywood; Prakash Jha speaks up

Mumbai, Jan 21: Prakash Jha, Bollywood director who is known for his down-to-earth nature, finally broke his silence about the current controversy which hit the nation.

The filmmaker expressed his opinion about the death of Rohith Vemula, the dalit student of Hyderabad Central University (HCU). Vemula committed suicide and his death sparked a new controversy in India.

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Prakash Jha, known for his politically charged movies, said that it was sad that a Dalit student chose death over life.

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"... a student felt death is better than life. What kind of a situation he was in that drove him to commit suicide... it is pathetic," Jha told the media when asked about his views on the suicide of Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula.

In the city to promote "Jai Gangajal", Jha said he had put together a research team which found that there was one suicide every 10-15 days in Kota in Rajasthan, known as the hub for tutorials and coaching classes.

"I am worried about it. Why have we stopped studying humanities? Every student either wants to become a manager or an engineer," he lamented.

Asked whether he would be making a film based on his research, Jha said, "I am not sure, it may take a few years."

OneIndia News
(With agency inputs))