Newly appointed chairman Anupam Kher visits FTII campus unannounced

Anupam Kher

Actor Anupam Kher who was appointed Chairman of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) on October 11 came down to the institute campus in Pune unannounced on Monday morning.

Unlike Gajendra Chauhan -his predecessor- Kher did not meet with any resistance when he visited the campus. In fact, he had a small interaction with students of 2016 batch who are protesting over academic issues and said that he would meet them and discuss the issue later in the day. “He spoke to us and then proceeded to meet the acting students. He said he would talk to the entire 2016 batch separately,” one of the students said.

A day after his appointment was made the FTII Students’ Body had written an ‘open letter’ to the actor pointing out as many as nine issues and seeking to know what the 62-year-old thespian thought of them. Speaking to media, Kher had said that he was open to talks and would love to talk to the students and resolve the issues.

FTII Students’ Body which had vociferously opposed Gajendra Chauhan’s appointment and had also spearheaded a four-month-long strike, had expressed displeasure over the appointment saying that ‘it was a reward to Kher for being an unofficial spokesperson of BJP’, but had acknowledged his credentials.

Read | Why appointing the redoubtable Anupam Kher as FTII head is a smart move

Tenure of previous FTII Society headed by Chauhan ended on March 3 earlier this year. Chauhan who was appointed in June 2015 for a three-year term with retrospective effect from March 2014, however, due to vociferous protests against him by students Chouhan could assume the office only in January 2016 thus effectively getting only a 15-month tenure.