Eminent Kannada filmmaker and a doyen of Indian parallel cinema Girish Kasaravalli, and Oscar-winning sound engineer Resul Pookutty will head a 10-member Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) delegation to hold parleys with the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry to resolve the row following the appointment of TV actor-turned-Bharatiya Janata Party politician Gajendra Chauhan’s appointment as Chairman of the institute’s governing council.
Mr. Chauhan’s appointment early last month resulted in an indefinite strike by students more than a fortnight ago, who are protesting against his dubious ‘creative credentials’ and questioned his capabilities in helming India premier centre for film education.
Apart from Mr. Kasaravalli and Mr. Pookutty, five other FTII alumni will be part of the team which will also include three current students.
The FTII Students’ Association (FSA) have demanded the immediate revocation of Mr. Chauhan’s appointment during the 19-day strike that has paralysed the institute.
“The Ministry has written to the FTII Director asking us to meet the Joint Secretary (Films) in New Delhi. Our primary demand is the dissolution of the reconstituted FTII society and we want a transparent process for the selection of Chairman without the intrusion of politics into the process,” said Harishankar Nachimuthu, president, FSA and one of the students in the delegation.
