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Neither Qualification, Nor Vision': Why FTII Students Are On A Strike Against The New Chairman

Sachin=GOD

By Sachin=GOD
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rkt.india Grand Master

rkt.india

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Shyam Benegal: The action taken by the students is extreme It has been 31 days since the students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) have gone on a strike against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman of the governing council. However, Chauhan remains unperturbed. He has taken up the post and reports suggest that he will be in the committee to choose the next director of the institute after DJ Narain, the present director's tenure ends. While the FTII campus battles through a tumultuous situation, Pune Times spoke to the two-time chairman of the institute Shyam Benegal, who was also in the race for the current post. Excerpts: The FTII strike against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman is in its 31st day now... Yes, I have been following the strike. However, I feel that the action taken by students is extreme. Credentials or no credentials - if the government has sent somebody to be the chairman, he should be given a chance. Students should not just look at the credentials. So, you are not supporting the strike? I want the students to be frank, come ahead and have a dialogue with Chauhan. They should listen to his views and vice versa, and find a road ahead for the institute. Students should not jump the gun even before giving the man a chance. READ: Day 30: Bollywood finally extends support to FTII strike You were the chairman of the institute twice. Yes, I was. And let me tell you, the chairman is not the director. The director is the one who executes all the decisions on campus. He meets the students on a daily basis and lives on campus. Whereas, the chairman needs to come to campus only six times a year - twice for society meetings and four times for the governing council meets. If it is the concern of running the institute, then the director is contacted and not the chairman. Only when the institute needs more money or a change in the overall policy needs to be made, the chairman is contacted. So, Gajendra Chauhan fits the bill? FTII is a professional institute. And it needs immense development in terms of technology. It is a place where you train people and if a man can come and put things in place, then why not? Students cannot claim and assume anything even before he is appointed. If there is a reason for their disagreement over the appointment of the gentleman, they should come forward and have a dialogue rather than going on a strike. Students claim, as compared to someone like Adoor Gopalakrishnan or Gulzar, Chauhan doesn't have enough body of work. How can the students decide if a man is capable or not, if there is a right kind of political alignment or if he will change the colour of the institution? No one's stopping them from clearing the air? But they are unwilling to talk and are dissatisfied. I don't understand what the fuss is all about. The students initiated a dialogue with the ministry, but not much came out of it. Dialogue with the man in question is the need of the hour. The general body should meet him and clear the air. No one else can help. Reports suggest that Chauhan was chosen over personalities like you, Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan. I was never asked. I have been the chairman twice and I have no idea about the other contenders because nothing was conveyed to me. What do you have to say about Chauhan's credentials? I don't even know him. How can I speak about his credibility? Also, it is not the body of work that matters. You can only judge a person after he performs his given duty. Students are not allowing any of those things to happen. They should understand that in an institution, ideological saffronisation is not possible. What's the point of going on a strike and calling names? Why haven't you come and addressed the students so far then? They have not called me. I do come to FTII when I am in Pune but the students have not asked me to come now. Why should I impose myself on the students? I cannot do that. It is up to them to decide whom to or not invite.

mishra Grand Master

mishra

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Feckers are proposing Amitabh Bacchan and likes to become chairman or someone from their brigade. No one was interested. Looks more like Sickular body in actions.

amiret Newbie

amiret

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Most Indian movies are C-grade worthless trash anyway , So why single out Mr.Chauhan alone ? Acting itself does not require any qualifications or talent. He is as qualified as any of the other B*lly00d Ham-sters. Shutdown this tax-payer funded institute or privatize it .

G_B_ Grand Master

G_B_

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Apparently now the students arrested cause of complaint of assult filed by a teacher there. He had marked incomplete film projects from the 2008 batch. The students were unhappy and gheraoed him holding him hostage. Unless somebody can explain to me, 2008 batch thats like 7 years ago. What exactly are these students doing in the hostel? Why do i get the feeling that these protests are something much deeper than Chauhan.

Sachin=GOD Newbie

Sachin=GOD

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Apparently now the students arrested cause of complaint of assult filed by a teacher there. He had marked incomplete film projects from the 2008 batch. The students were unhappy and gheraoed him holding him hostage. Unless somebody can explain to me, 2008 batch thats like 7 years ago. What exactly are these students doing in the hostel? Why do i get the feeling that these protests are something much deeper than Chauhan.
FTII as an institute is really screwed up. Courses which are supposed to be of 1 year duration last 5-6 years, projects etc are not completed and/or marked, convocations don't happen, there is not much collaboration with international film institutes, drug use is rampant and most importantly there seems to be no vision and lack of talented faculty etc. The guy who has been appearing in media as the President of the student body (the one with big specs) has been at the institute since 2008. Obviously these students who have been living on Govt funding (Govt spends about 12 lacs per year per student at FTII) for years without doing much work don't want the status quo to change and therein lies the reason for conflict. As for Gajendra Chauhan - the institute needs clean up and govt is absolutely right in trying to do it. Govt's mistake is in giving the job to an obviously under qualified person like Chauhan. Everyone in the industry agrees that he just isn't good enough to lay down a proper vision for the institute or inspire students or bring FTII to an international standard but now it seems it is a question of ego for the Govt so they are sticking with a bad choice. The situation can still be salvaged if Chauhan is removed and someone better is appointed. Then there will be support from the industry and that will help a lot.
rkt.india Grand Master

rkt.india

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As for Gajendra Chauhan - the institute needs clean up and govt is absolutely right in trying to do it. Govt's mistake is in giving the job to an obviously under qualified person like Chauhan. Everyone in the industry agrees that he just isn't good enough to lay down a proper vision for the institute or inspire students or bring FTII to an international standard but now it seems it is a question of ego for the Govt so they are sticking with a bad choice. The situation can still be salvaged if Chauhan is removed and someone better is appointed. Then there will be support from the industry and that will help a lot.
Problem is a chairman is just an honorary post. He has nothing much to do there. Everything is handled by the Director, former Chairman Shyam Benegal said this in his interview. A chairman ought to visit the facility max 6 times a year. Think, Institute has had some renowned people as Chairman. What have they done to solve such issues. Look at the list. Anwar Jamal Kidwai (November 1, 1974-September 30, 1977) S M H Burney (November 25, 1975-September 30, 1977) R K Laxman (November 1, 1977-September 30, 1980) Shyam Benegal (February 5, 1981-September 30,1983 September 1989-September 30, 1992) Mrinal Sen ( April 9, 1984-September 30, 1986) Adoor Gopalakrishnan (September 1, 1987-September 1989 November 21, 1992-September 30,1995) Mahesh Bhatt (November 20, 1995-September 30, 1998) Girish Karnad (February 16, 1999-October 10, 2001) Mr.Vinod Khanna (October 12, 2001-February 2002 March 4, 2002-March 3, 2005) U R Ananthamurthy March 4, 2005-March 3, 2008 March 4, 2008-March 3, 2011 Saeed Akhtar Mirza March 4, 2011-March 3, 2014 It is about intent rather than the names.
rkt.india Grand Master

rkt.india

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A FTII Student Writes to Swarajya On an average, Govt of India spends about Rs 3.5 lakh on IITians while the spend on each FTII student is Rs 12 lakhs per year!! Now sample this: FTII has been hit by as many as 39 strikes with no convocation for the 17 years and students from the 2008 batch continuing to pursue their courses! *** Here is what a student at FTII has to say*** Make no mistake about it. This strike is political: Many people, who are representing themselves as the face of FTII, are legally not even the students of FTII. Most of them belong to the 2008 batch which means it’s been 7 years have passed since they entered the campus. Yes 7 YEARS. The officially stipulated period of the course is 3 years but they are living here since 7 years utilizing all the fancy facilities available in the FTII hostels – cheap food, free Wi-Fi, cheap accommodation, free electricity (one can use induction stoves, heaters etc non-stop). Many newly enrolled students find it difficult to secure accommodation as hostel rooms are illegally occupied by these overstaying campus radicals. Remember all these facilities come at an enormous cost funded by Indian taxpayers. You can read this FTII student's letter here: http://swarajyamag.com/politics/a-ftii-student-writes-to-swarajya/

Sachin=GOD Newbie

Sachin=GOD

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Problem is a chairman is just an honorary post. He has nothing much to do there. Everything is handled by the Director, former Chairman Shyam Benegal said this in his interview. A chairman ought to visit the facility max 6 times a year. Think, Institute has had some renowned people as Chairman. What have they done to solve such issues. Look at the list. Anwar Jamal Kidwai (November 1, 1974-September 30, 1977) S M H Burney (November 25, 1975-September 30, 1977) R K Laxman (November 1, 1977-September 30, 1980) Shyam Benegal (February 5, 1981-September 30,1983 September 1989-September 30, 1992) Mrinal Sen ( April 9, 1984-September 30, 1986) Adoor Gopalakrishnan (September 1, 1987-September 1989 November 21, 1992-September 30,1995) Mahesh Bhatt (November 20, 1995-September 30, 1998) Girish Karnad (February 16, 1999-October 10, 2001) Mr.Vinod Khanna (October 12, 2001-February 2002 March 4, 2002-March 3, 2005) U R Ananthamurthy March 4, 2005-March 3, 2008 March 4, 2008-March 3, 2011 Saeed Akhtar Mirza March 4, 2011-March 3, 2014 It is about intent rather than the names.
Director's job is just administrative. That is why the protests which led to arrest were happening against director, not Chairman.
Sachin=GOD Newbie

Sachin=GOD

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Govt has no business running flim institutes ' date=' shut it down or privatize it.[/quote'] I don't mind having the Govt run a film school. If the govt can have IITs/IIMs then running a film institute is fine. BUT if the Govt has to run it then they should have capable people and not C grade actors who don't command respect.
rkt.india Grand Master

rkt.india

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I don't mind having the Govt run a film school. If the govt can have IITs/IIMs then running a film institute is fine. BUT if the Govt has to run it then they should have capable people and not C grade actors who don't command respect.
Till now, they had some greats of Indian cinema holding that post, what did they do?
rkt.india Grand Master

rkt.india

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Director's job is just administrative. That is why the protests which led to arrest were happening against director' date=' not Chairman.[/quote'] Director's is the most important person in FTII. He oversees everything in the FTII. It is Chairman whose job is minuscule and mostly bringing funds from center. He is only obligated to visit FTII 6 times a year.
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