NEW DELHI: The premier Film School of India is in the news again. Students of FTII Pune (Film and Television Institute of India), an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India, are on indefinite strike from Friday June 12 against the appointment of a BJP member as the Chairperson.
The students are up-in-arms about the appointment of the new Chairman. Gajendra Chauhan. Chauhan’s claim to fame is his performance as ‘Yudhisther’ in the Television series Mahabharata. He was appointed as the Chairperson on June 9, triggering reactions of surprise and criticism from the film industry as well.
Bollywood veterans questioned the information and broadcasting ministry's choice of Gajendra Chauhan, saying he has not had any association with the premier institute in the past, nor could be placed in the same league as some of his predecessors.
"The FTII once produced gems of actors and directors who have been gifts to the Indian film industry. It is sad that appointments now are only about extending political largesse," said producer Mukesh Bhatt, who is also the president of the Film and TV Producers Guild of India.
Chauhan, who turned his association with the Bharatiya Janata Party for over 20 years into official membership in 2004 had campaigned extensively for the party in Haryana during the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections last year. Apart from Chauhan there are other controversial appointees in the Governing council like Anagha Ghaisas and Shailesh Gupta. Both are known for making political propaganda films.
FTII boasts of having produced marvels like Naseeruddin Shah, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, Raj Kumar Heerani, Prakash Jha and many others. Lately, there has been a steady decline in quality of faculty in the institute. Students, alumni and industry veterans had alleged increased bureaucratic meddling in the affairs of the institute in past. On FTII’s 50th Anniversary, Anurag Kashyap- the face of Indian new-wave cinema- had said that “The FTII is stuck in limbo.” He added- “Right upto the mid-nineties, the equipment, the skills and the learning was extremely contemporary. Now, however, the FTII is not current. I feel it needs to keep itself contemporary.”
In 2014, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced that the government proposes to accord status of institute of national importance to FTII, thereby putting it in league with IIT and AIIMS. Ironically, the institute has remained without a chairman for over a year after Saeed Mirza’s term ended in 2014.
Actor Raza Murad, another alumnus who has also been a member of the governing council, said it would require a lot of competence to head the FTII. "When an institute that is supposed to train artistes has to deal with politicians and bureaucrats with little understanding of the creative world, a lot of maneuvering is required. I hope he (Chauhan) manages to pull through.”
The Citizen spoke with Kislay Gonzalvez, FTII Pune’s Ex-General Secretary of the Students’ Association. He said- “It seems that present government is constantly trying to undermine the autonomy of many premier institutions by appointing below par people based on their association with BJP or RSS. When Mr. Jaitley announced that FTII will be made an Institute of national importance, students were hoping that some credible measures will be taken to make institute more autonomous. But it seems that ministry is more interested in promoting other vested interests in FTII. Never in the history of FTII such a blatant appointment overriding all academic considerations have been made.”