The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has nominated current Vice Chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Brijendra Pal Singh as the new President of the FTII Society and Chairman of Governing Council.
Singh is the creator, director and producer of popular television series CID and Aahat. An alumnus of the institution, he will be up for the position that was most recently occupied by Anupam Kher, who announced in October that he will be stepping down owing to a “busy schedule”.
In a resignation letter addressed to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Kher said, “The decision has not come without considerable thought of the responsibilities expected of me vis-a-vis the time I have at my disposal to execute them.”
The post of President of the FTII Society and Chairman of Governing Council has been mired in controversy since 2015 when Gajendra Chauhan was appointed to the position. The news sparked mass protests from students of the institution who felt that his appointment was politically motivated. They argued that his qualifications were few — his only credentials as an actor includes playing the eldest Pandava Yudishthir in B R Chopra’s TV series — especially when compared to previous chairpersons such as Shyam Benegal, Girish Karnad and Adoor Gopalakrishnan. The protests lasted 139 days, coming to an end on 28 October, 2015. Filmmakers such as Dibakar Baneerjee and Anand Patwardhan returned their National Awards in a show of solidarity with the students.
Further protests ensued in 2016 and Chauhan incited added furore after news of his meeting RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat broke.
Anupam Kher was appointed the new Chairman in 2017. However, there was a significant delay in the constitution of the non-official members of the Governing Council, without which Kher could not execute his duties.
When asked to comment on Kher’s work at FTII in an interview with The Quint, actor Naseeruddin Shah slammed Kher for his frequent absences saying, “Where is he? How can I comment on his work when he’s hardly ever at the FTII? I don’t think he’s been there more than twice. I go to the FTII to deliver some lectures every now and then. I am told that he’s not seen there very often. If he chooses to spend some more time at the institute, we’ll get to see the work and be able to comment on it. Till then, what can I say?
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