FTII Students Go on Hunger Strike, Filmakers Write to President

NEW DELHI: The pressure is building on the government to remove the controversial Chairperson of the Governing Council of the Film and Television Institute of India Gajendra Chauhan despite its obdurate stand for three months. FTII students have intensified their protest by going on hunger strike, even as reputed filmmakers sent a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee to intervene and assume charge as the Chancellor. 

The government has fallen silent after slight activity during which officials of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry met the striking students. There has been no word since, with the centre clearly opposed to the removal of Chauhan and the other appointments of BJP/RSS members to the Governing Council. FTII Students’ Association representative Vikas Urs accused FTII director Prashant Pathrabe of not 'doing anything to resolve the crisis' and adopting 'a manipulative mechanism' to malign the students. 

The students said that they had written at least 15, if not more letters to the government that had not replied to any."What kind of government have we elected? A government which is silent and doesn’t let creativity prosper?" they asked reporters. 

The three students join FTII faculty member Abhijit Das who has been on indefinite hunger strike since Saturday. 

The filmmakers 

The letter to the President is as follows: 

“Honourable Sir, 

We write to you at a time when the film-making community – and the public at large – are deeply perturbed by the ongoing mishandling of affairs at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. 

The undersigned are all recipients of National Film Awards over the years, bestowed upon us by the office of the President, in recognition of our films and our cinema-related work. We are writing to collectively bring to your attention the following: 

1. The FTII is a premier institute, now in its 55th year. Its alumni include some of the best-known names of the Indian film industry, who have brought national and international recognition to Indian cinema. 

2. In June 2015, the Ministry made a series of appointments to the FTII Society. We are dismayed to find among the appointees several people who did not satisfy the minimum criteria of either a ‘significant contribution’ to, or ‘excellence’ in, cinema. 

3. We have been particularly disturbed to note that the Ministry had arbitrarily chosen Shri Gajendra Chouhan as the Chairman of the Governing Council, a position earlier held by eminent film-makers like Shri Mrinal Sen, Dr UR Ananthamurthy, Shri Shyam Benegal, Shri Girish Karnad and Shri Adoor Gopalakrishnan, among a host of other eminent appointees. This appears to have been done in haste, sans due diligence or widespread consultations. 

4. Even more disturbing is the inclusion of at least four political appointees, with little or no cinematic achievements of note. These include an appointee against whom a Pune Court has passed strictures, doubting her knowledge of cinema, as well as people with no other significant qualification except their affiliation with the political party in power. 

5. Even as many of us have registered our protest through the media, the students of the FTII have been on an indefinite strike protesting these appointments and what they rightly see as an attempt to interfere with the autonomy of the institute. In the 85 days since they commenced their strike, we have been anguished to observe the myriad ways in which the Ministry has mishandled the complex set of issues brought up by the students, the alumni, the film-making community and the wider civil society. 

7. We have been especially disturbed at the victimisation of the students, some of whom were subjected to midnight arrests on what prima facie seem to be grossly exaggerated charges including “torture”. 

8. We believe that despite the several discussions held between the Ministry and the students, as well as the various attempts at mediation, especially by eminent alumni, no solution seems to be in sight. 

We therefore write to you to express our deep anguish and to urge you to intervene directly. We hope our intervention would not just facilitate an end to the current crisis, but also help address the long-term and festering problems faced by the FTII. 

May we request you to: 

? Declare FTII as a Centre of Excellence and an autonomous institution. 

? Assume charge as the Chancellor. 

? Direct the Government of India to delink FTII from the Ministry of I & B and to urgently complete all the necessary formalities to grant it autonomy. 

? Appoint an independent panel of eminent filmmakers to probe and resolve all the issues arising out of the current crisis as well as to facilitate the immediate resumption of classes and the ongoing diploma film projects. 

? Authorise this panel to formally consider all prior reports submitted by various committees – right from the G D Khosla committee (1971) to the P K Nair committee (2011) – and to make final recommendations concerning FTII to your office. 

We hope you will accord due weightage to our collective voices and share in our desire to preserve an invaluable institution like the FTII. 

We are writing to you as a last resort, before considering any further concerted steps or protests.” 

The Some signatories include:

1.Abhaya Simha, Director, Gubbachigalu, 2008 
2. Abhik Mukhopadhyay, Cinematographer, Patalghar, 2002; Bhalo Theko, 2003; Antaheen, 2008 
3. Abhimanyu Dange, Cinematographer, Kaatal, 2012 
4. Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Director, Padma Shri, 1984; Dada Saheb Phalke Award, 2004; Padma Vibhushan, 2006; 17 National Awards 
5. Ajithkumar B, Editor, Of Confucious, Toy Guns and S-Spots, 1999; Atman, 2002; Naalu Pennungal, 2007 
6. Ajit Singh Rathore, Sound Designer, Kramasha, 2009 
7. Amit Dutta, Director, Ksha Tra Gya, 2004 
8. Amitabh Chakraborty, Editor, Director, Bishar Blues, 2006; Kaal Abhirati, 1990 
9. Amlan Datta, Director, Producer, Chronicle of An Amnesiac, 2007; .in for motion, 2009; BOM, 2011 
10. Andrea Inneta, Director, Allah is Great, 2012 
11. Anil Mehta, Cinematographer, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, 1999 
12. Anish John, Sound Designer, Asha Jaoar Majhe, 2014 
13. Anirban Dasgupta, Sound Designer, Shabdo, 2012; Nirbashito, 2014 
14. Anjali Shukla, Cinematographer, Kutty Srank, 2010 
15. Anmol Bhave, Sound Designer, Closer, 2005; Gandha, 2008 
16. Anup Mukhopadhyay, Audiographer, Uttara, 1999 
17. Arghyakamal Mitra, Editor, Abohoman, 2009 
18. Arunaraje Patil, Producer, Director, Mallika Sarabhai, 2000; A New Paradigm, 2002; Behind the Glass Wall, 2014 
19. Arun Khopkar, Director, Producer, Film Scholar, Tobacco Habits and Oral Cancer, 1976; Figures of Thought, 1990; Sanchari, 1994; Colours of Absence, 1995; Rasikapriya, 2000; Narayan Gangaram Surve, 2004 
20. Arunima Sharma, Director Shyam, Raat, Seher, 2010 
21. Ashok Viswanathan, Director, Sunya Theke Suru, 1992; Kichhu Sanglap Kichhu Prolap, 1996 
22. Avinash Arun, Director, Cinematographer, Killa, 2014 
23. Batul Mukhtiar, Director, Kaphal, 2014 
24. Bina Paul, Editor, Mitr, 2002; Unni, 2003 
25. Bishwadeep Chatterjee, Sound Designer, Madras Café, 2014 
26. Chandita Mukherjee, Director, Totanama, 1992; Another Way of Learning,1995 
27. Charushree Roy, Director, Editor, Chasing the Rainbow, 2014 
28. Chinmoy Nath, Audiographer, The Vehicle with the Soul of a Man, 2000 
29. Deepu S Unni, Cinematographer, Gaarud, 2009 
30. Dilip Patnaik, Director, Nilamadhaba, 2008 
31. Dipankar Chaki, Sound Designer, Shabdo 2012; Nirbashito, 2014 
32. Gadadhar Puty, Director, Pooja, Paeen, Phulati, 2007 
33. Gautam Nair, Sound Designer, Ek Do, 2011; Chidhiya Udh, 2013 
34. Girish Kasaravalli, Director, Padma Shri, 2011; Avashesh, 1975; Ghatashradhdha, 1977; Tabarana Kathe, 1986; Thaaye Saheba, 1997; Kraurya, 1996; Dweepa, 2002 
35. Gurvinder Singh, Director, Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan, 2011 
36. Hansa Thapliyal, Director, Jee Karta Tha, 1998 
37. Harikumar Madhavan Nair, Audiography, A Pestering Journey, 2011 
38. Hari Nair, Cinematographer, Sham’s Vision, 1996 
39. Harshvardhan Kulkarni, Director, Lost & Found, 2008 
40. Indraneel Lahiri, Cinematograher, Aamar Katha, Story of Binodini, 2015 
41. Irene Dhar Malik, Editor, Celluloid Man, 2013 
42. Jahnu Barua, Director, Padma Shri, 2015, Aparoopa, 1983; Halodhia Choraye Bhaodan Khai, 1987; Bonani, 1990; Firingoti, 1992; Xagoroloi Bohu Door, 1995; The Price of Freedom, 1998; And the River Flows, 1999; Ride on the Rainbow, 2003; Baandhon, 2012; Ajeyo, 2013 
43. Jasmin Kaur, Director, Saanjh, 2004 
44. Jayakrishna Gummadi, Cinematographer, When This Man Dies, 2007 
45. Kamal Swaroop, Director, Phalke’s Children; Rangbhoomi, 2013 
46. Kaushal Oza, Director, Vaishnav Jan Toh, 2009, Afterglow, 2012 
47. Kavin Jagtiani, Cinematographer, Mandrake Mandrake, 2013 
48. KG George, Director, Swapnadanam, 1975 
49. KG Jayan, Cinematographer, 18 Elephants- 3 Monologues, 2003 
50. KR Mohanan, Director, Purushartham, 1987; Swaroopam, 1992; 
51. Kirti Nakhwa, Producer, Lost & Found, 2008 
52. Krishnanunni, Audiographer, Anandaram, 1987; Piravi, 1988; Desadanam, 1996 
53. Kundan Shah, Director, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, 1984 
54. Lipika Singh Darai, Sound Recordist, Gaarud, 2009; A Tree, A Man, A Sea, 2012; Kankee O Saapo, 2013
55. Madhu Ambat, Cinematographer, Adi Sankaracharya, 1984; Sringaram, 2006; Adaminte Makan Abu, 2010 
56. Mahesh Thottathil, Director, Death of a Prodigal Son, 1994 
57. Manisha Dwiwedi, Director, Avchetan, 2003 
58. Manoj Kannoth, Editor, Stations, 2008 
59. Manoj Nitharwal, Director, Seek & Hide, 2015 
60. Manoj Lobo, Cinematographer, Girni, 2005 
61. MP Sukumaran Nair, Director, Sayanam, 2001; Drishtantham, 2007 
62. MR Rajan, Director, Pakarnnattam, 1997; Ithihasathite Sparsham, 1999; Unarvite Kalam, 1999; Nottam, 2000; Minukku, 2006 
63. Murali, Cinematographer, Shyam, Raat, Seher, 2010 
64. Nandan Kudhyadi, Director, Producer, CV Raman, 1989; Rasayatra, 1995 
65. Nandkumar Kavil, Director, Athmeeyam, 1996 
66. Nihar Samal, Sound Designer, Tatvam Asi, 1997 
67. Nilanjan Dutta, Director, Bhanga Gara, 2007 
68. Nishtha Jain, Director, Gulaabi Gang, 2014 
69. Pankaj Purandare, Director, Dwija, 2004 
70. Pankaj Seal, Audiographer, Matir Bhnar, 1998 
71. Paresh Kamdar, Editor, Rasayatra, 1994 
72. PP Govindan, Malbarriyum Pattunoolam, 1992 
73. Prashant Naik, Editor, Harvest of Hunger, 2004 
74. Prateek Vats, Director, Kal 15 August Dukaan Band Rahegi, 2010 
75. Radhakrishnan, Sound Designer, Annayam Rasoolam, 2013 
76. Rajat Kapoor, Director, Tarana, 1995; Hynothesis, 1998; Raghu Romeo, 2004 
77. Rajeev Ravi, Cinematographer, Liar’s Dice, 2013 
78. Ranjan Palit, Cinematographer, Director, Voices from Baliapal, 1989; In the Forest Hangs the Bridge, 1998; Kaya Pooch Maya Se, 2003 ; In Camera, 2009
79. Reena Mohan, Director, Editor, Kamalabai 1991; In The Forest Hangs a Bridge, 1998 
80. Renu Sawant, Director, Airawat, 2011, Aranyak, 2014 
81. Resul Pookutty, Sound Designer, Padma Shri, 2010; Keralavarm Pazhissiraja, 2009 
82. Saeed Mirza, Director, Mohan Joshi Hazar Ho, 1984; Naseem, 1996 
83. Saikat S Ray, Editor, Hope Dies Last In War, 2007 
84. Sanjiv Shah, Editor, Mirch Masala, 1985 
85. Sanju Surendran, Director, Kapila, 2014 
86. Sankalp Meshram, Editor, Director, Lokpriya, 2000; Chhutkan Ki Mahabharat, 2005; Lasya Kavya The World of Alarmel Valli, 2012
87. Santosh Sivan, Cinematographer, Director, Producer, Padma Shri, 2014, Story of Tiblu, 1988; Mohiniyattam, 1991; Perumthachan, 1991; Halo, 1996; Kala Paani, 1996; Iruvar, 1998; Malli, 1998; The Terrorist, 1998; Dil Se, 1999; Navarasa, 2004; Prarambha, 2008; Indian Rupee, 2011 
88. Satheesh PM, Sound Designer, Kumar Talkies, 1999 
89. Satya Rai Nagpaul, Cinematographer, Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan, 2011 
90. Shabnam Sukhdev, Director, The Last Adieu, 2013 
91. Shaji N Karun, Cinematographer, Director, Padma Shri, 2011, Thampu, 1979; Piravi, 1989; Swaham, 1995; Sham’s Vision, 1997;Vanaprastham, 1999; Kutty Srank, 2009 
92. Shanker Raman, Cinematographer, Producer, Frozen, 2007; Harud, 2012 
93. Sivaprasad, Ormayude Theerangalil, 1994 
94. Sourav Sarangi, Director, Bilal, 2009; Char: The No-Man’s Island, 2012 
95. Subash Sahoo, Sound Engineer and Designer, Omkara, 2007; Kaminey, 2010 
96. Sudhakar Reddy, Director-Cinematographer, Ek Akaash, 2003 
97. Sudheer Palsane, Cinematographer, Koyad, 2012 
98. Sunil Sukhtankar, Director, Doghi, 1996; Devrai, 2004 
99. Sunny Joseph, Director, Clown and Dog, 1984 
100. Suresh Pai, Editor, SNIP!, 2001; Page 3, 2005  
101. Susant Misra, Director, Indradhanura Chhaai, 1994; Biswaprakash, 2000 

102. Tathagata Singha, Director, Ekti Kaktaliyo Galpo, 2009 
103. Umesh Kulkarni, Director, Girni, 2004; Three of Us, 2008; Deool, 2011 
104. Unni Vijayan, Director, Lessons in Forgetting, 2012 
105. Venu, Cinematographer, Director, Amma Ariyan, 1986; Miss Beatty’s Children, 1992; Ponthan Mada, 1993; Daya, 1998
106. Vinod Sukumaran, Director, Diary of a Housewife, 2002 
107. Virendra Saini, Cinematographer, Director, Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro, 1990; Kabhi Paas Kabhi Fail, 1999 
108. Vivek, Sound Designer, Ksha Tra Gya, 2004 
109. VR Gopinath, Kooduthal Paal Venamenkil, 1983, Unnikuttanu Joli Kitti, 1990 
Signatories from the film fraternity 
110. Aditya Bikram Sengupta, Asha Jaoar Majhe, 2014 
111. Anand Patwardhan, Director, Bombay Our City, 1984 
112. Anindya Chattopadhyay, lyricist, Antaheen, 2008 
113. Anirban Sengupta, Sound Designer, Shabdo, 2012; Nirbhashito, 2014 
114. Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, Producer, Anuranan, 2007; Antaheen, 2008 
115. Anjali Menon, Dialogue Writer, Ustad Hotel, 2012 
116. Anjan Dutt, Music Director, Ranjana Aami Aar Ashbo, 2011 
117. Anwar Rasheed, Best Popular film, Ustad Hotel, 2012 
118. Aparna Sen, Padma Shri 1987, 36, Chowringhee Lane, 1981; Paroma, 1984; Yugant, 1995; Paromitar Ek Din, 2000; Mr and Mrs Iyer, 2001; 15, Park Avnue, 200 
119. Asha Achy Joseph, Producer, Diary of a Housewife, 2002 
120. Asok Dasgupta, Cinematographer, The Trail, 1998

121. Ashim Ahluwalia, Director, John and Jane, 2007; Miss Lovely, 2014 
122. Ayan Bhattacharya, Audiographer, Tender is the Sight, 2014 
123. Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Producer, Director, Bagh Bahadur, 1989; Charachar, 1983; Lal Darja, 1997; Mondo Meyer Upakhyan, 2002;Kaalpurush, 2008; Dooratwa, 1978; Phera, 1987; Tahader Katha, 1993; A Painter of Eloquent Silence: Ganesh Pyne, 1998; Uttara, 2000; Swapner Din, 2005 
124. Chandramala Bhattacharya, Producer, Kahini, 1996 
125. CS Venkiteswaran, Director, Best Critic, 2002, 2009; Pakarnnattam, 1995 
126. Dibakar Banerjee, Director, Khosla Ka Ghosla, 2007; Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! 2009 
127. Dipankar Chaki, Sound Designer, Shabdo, 2012; Nirbhashito, 2014 
128. GP Ramachandran, Critic, Best Critic, 2006 
129. Gayatri Chatterjee, Film Scholar, Awara, 1993

130. Geetanjali Thapa, Actress, Liar's Dice, 2013

131. Hansal Mehta, Director, Shahid, 2013 
132. I Shanmugadas, Critic, 1999 
133. Iram Ghufran, Director, Editor, There is Something in the Air, 2011 
134. Joshy Mathew, Producer, Black Forest, 2014 
135. Jayaraj, Director, Producer, Kaliyattam, 1997; Vellapokkathil – The Deluge, 2007; Desadanam, 1996; Shantham, 2000; Daivanamathil, 2005;Ottal, 2014 
136. Kamal Perumazhakkalam, 2004, Karutha Pakshikal, 2006; Celluloid, 2012 
137. KP Kumaran, Director, Rugmani, 1988 
138. KR Manoj, Director, A Pestering Journey, 2011 
139. Kavitha Lankesh, Director, Deeveri, 2000; Preethi, Prema, Pranya, 2004 

140. M Manikandan, Director, Kaakkaa Muttai, 2014