Anand Patwardhan alleges he was blocked from meeting protesting monk at Mumbai University

Renowned filmmaker Anand Patwardhan said he was stopped from entering Mumbai University’s Kalina campus recently when he went to meet Buddhist monk Bhante Vimamsa, a former research scholar, who was participating in a sit-in protest on the campus.

Speaking to The Hindu on Thursday (March 5, 2026), Mr. Patwardhan said that the guards stopped anyone who tried to meet the Bhante. “I don’t even think they recognised me. They stopped many others too,” he said.