The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 12 April, directed the Pune-based Film and Television Institute of
India (FTII) not to exclude candidates suffering from colour blindness from its courses on film making
and editing and asked it to make changes to its curriculum instead.

The SC was hearing a plea by a candidate whose admission in 2015 for a three-year post-graduate
diploma in film editing at FTII was recalled after the institute found he is colour blind. The candidate
had approached the Bombay high court earlier but there his petition was turned down so he decided
to move to the top court where he brought up noted film director, Christopher Nolan who too was
colour blind. The bench of Justices S K Kaul and M. M. Sundresh endorsed the majority view of an
expert committee appointed by the top court in last November on this issue. The committee was of
the opinion that colour grading module of the editing course has no relevance or nexus with the role
of a film editor. The bench said the expert panel’s conclusion showed a clear recommendation that
all individuals will be allowed for all courses at FTII and asked the institute to either exclude the
colour grading module or make it optional. The bench remarked, “any limitation can be overcome”.

The matter is listed for hearing again on May 10, 2022.