FTII row: students arrested in Delhi for protesting against Gajendra Chauhan’s appointment

The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) controversy took an ugly turn today. Its students and alumni, who arrived in Delhi to meet officials of the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry, were taken into custody for protesting outside it. After more than 20 days of agitation against the appointment of TV actor Gajendra Chauhan as the new chairman of the institute, the students came here.

The protest was supported by students of Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI).

The FTII students have been boycotting classes, abandoning academic work in protest against Chauhan, who according to them does not have “vision and knowledge” to lead the premiere institution of film-making.

Nakul Singh Sahani, an independent film-maker and FTII alumnus, said: “The students were holding a peaceful protest outside the ministry at Shastri Bhawan when they were dragged by police and arrested. We came here to arrive at a conclusion and want a fresh selection of a chairman and some governing council members of the institute. We also want a transparent system where we could know how these appointments were done.”

Cinematographer Saurabh Vishwakarma, who passed out from FTII in 2004, said: “It is a prestigious institution and the post of the chairman is not one that can be offered to anyone. If a person has achieved eminence in his field and his work has been recognized, then it adds to his credentials. Such person can be appointed as is its head.”

Sahani passed out from the Pune-based institute in 2006. He said: “Chauhan has zero credential to be the chairman. The TV actor was appointed as he is associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and not because of his depth of knowledge.”

Moreover, there are some members in the FTII governing council who have been selected due to their closeness to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), he said, asking “do they have any idea about film-making, script writing or can they teach students or plan their syllabus and conduct workshops”.

“Chauhan doesn’t have the required experience to run the top most institute of film-making, which enjoys certain credibility in India and abroad. How will he lead the institution,” asked Aditi Sharma, film-maker and owner of Apple Box Films.

She said: "There were eminent people in the field of cinema before Chauhan who occupied this prestigious post. The legacy has to be maintained and respected.”

The post has been previously held by National award-winning film-maker Shyam Benegal, veteran actor Vinod Khanna, Kannada writer U R Ananthamurthy, film director Saeed Akhtar Mirza, among others.

This type of political interference is not new to institutions of higher learning in India, Sharma said, adding IITs and IIMs are also its victims.

Thousands of students sit for the test and compete to get an entry in FTII, said Himanshu Prajapati, second year student of film direction. “People like Chauhan will destroy the credibility of the institute,” he said.

(Image: Saurabh Vishwakarma official FB page)