An academic question

The Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) in Mumbai is close to the fabled film city, so it was inevitable that the institute would receive proposals for film shoots on campus. Many years ago, IGIDR Founder-Director Kirit S Parikh said in his speech at a conference at the institute, film-maker Manmohan Desai wanted to shoot a scene there for a film starring Sridevi and Amitabh Bachchan. Sridevi was to play the daughter of a rich father who had studied at the institute. But, Parikh said, he did not allow the shoot because he believed that the institute’s academic contribution would be seriously compromised. The institute was established by the Reserve Bank of India.