Ranjith Sankar advocates for modern protest methods during Bharat Bandh |

Filmmaker Ranjith Sankar questioned the effectiveness of today’s nationwide strikes, like the ongoing Bharath Bandh, arguing they disproportionately harm small businesses and daily wage earners. He advocated for modern, targeted resistance methods, citing Japan’s fare-free bus strikes and the MeToo movement’s impactful storytelling as examples of effective, less disruptive approaches to enacting change.

Malayalam filmmaker Ranjith Sankar calls for better methods of resistance, as Bharath Bandh, a nationwide strike called by major trade unions and farmers’ organisations, is underway today, February 12. With educational institutions, public transport, shops, and government offices remaining closed, Kerala has come to a near standstill.Ranjith Sankar, best known for his films ‘Passenger’, ‘Su Su Sudhi Vathmeekam’, and ‘Njan Marykutty’, has publicly questioned the effectiveness of such strikes in today’s day and age. In a note shared on his Instagram story, Ranjith Sankar said that with private offices, schools, and colleges going online, this strike is most likely to affect small businesses, daily wage employees, and street vendors. He also added that the traditional shutdown protests risk sidelining the very communities they aim to protect. Ranjith Sankar also pointed out how such strikes affect the public and drew attention to how Japan would deal with similar situations. “In Japan, bus drivers once went on strike-they kept driving. but refused to collect fares. Public not affected. Company revenue hit. That’s precision.”He further spoke about the effectiveness of MeToo movement. MeToo didn’t block traffic, it didn’t shut down cities. It told stories, publicly. Powerful men fell. Systems shook,” the filmmaker added.

Ranjith Sankar concluded the note saying that better methods that align with today’s times is going to be fruitful rather than the outdated ways. “We need methods that match the times, not memories of the past,” he said. Meanwhile, on the work front, Ranjith Sankar’s recent outing was ‘Jai Ganesh’ starring Unni Mukundan and Mahima Nambiar. The film was released in 2024.