FTII students stage a demonstration after Chauhan assumed office as FTII chairman in Pune yesterday.
Gajendra Chauhan yesterday assumed office as chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) as a large number of students staged a vociferous protest outside the campus. Police caned and detained at least 20 students.
The police, deployed in large numbers, resorted to mild caning after some students attempted to block the route taken by Chauhan, who came for his first take-over meeting of the FTII Society. He was appointed its chairman in June last year.
The assembled students shouted slogans “Go back Chauhan” as he arrived at the campus and some attempted to stop him from entering the premises.
At least 17 students had already been served notices warning them of stringent action if they attempted to create a ruckus on the campus during Chauhan’s visit.
Some students accused the police of high-handedness and manhandling the students who were protesting peacefully when they were forcibly dragged to the waiting vans.
Student leader Reema Kaur said their demonstration was “silent, and made violent by the police”.
“The students were protesting at the gate peacefully. Police staged a lathi-charge. They hurt many students and put them in the riot van. It is a curfew-like situation on the campus,” Kaur said.
FTII Students’ Association (FTIISA) president Harishankar Nachimuthu was also among those detained, Kaur added.
The FTIISA had announced on Wednesday its plan to ‘resist’ Chauhan as its demands remained unmet by the authorities.
“Our core demand was to place the newly-appointed society in abeyance and to set proper criteria and procedure to appoint the FTII Society and it still remains the same,” the FTIISA said in a statement.
The FTIISA said “we still have problem with these appointments and will continue to resist it unless the concerned authorities put the society in abeyance and set a process for further appointments, since it is a question of our academics.”
The direct protest against Chauhan yesterday came after the students on June 12 went on strike, which was called off on October 28 - after 139 days, “against the political appointments of incapable people in the FTII Society”.
Chauhan, best known for essaying the role of ‘Yudhishthir’ in B R Chopra’s TV serial Mahabharat besides featuring in small roles in various films like Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge and Baghban, was appointed FTII chairman on June 9, last year.
The first meeting of the FTII Society and its governing council was later held under Chauhan.
Eminent television serial maker B P Singh was elected vice president of the FTII Society, also as vice chairman of the Governing Council. The CID producer, an FTII alumnus, will be the new chairman of the institute’s Academic Council.
The FTII also nominated filmmakers and film personalities Rajkumar Hirani, Satish Shah, Pranjal Saikia, Narendra Pathak and film journalist Bhawana Somaaya to the governing council.
Prominent persons attending the FTII Society meeting included additional secretary and financial advisor Subhash Sharma, Satish Shah, Rahul Solapurkar, joint secretary (Films) Sanjay Murthy, Hirani and B P Singh.
Additionally, there were Anagha Ghaisas, Narendra Pathak, Bhawana Somaiyya, Urmil Thapliyal, Pranjal Saikia, ex-officio members Director-General of Films Division Mukesh Sharma, FTII director Prashant Pathrabe, officer on special duty to Information & Broadcasting minister Chaitanya Prasad, Children’s Film Society of India CEO Shravan Kumar and Kolkata-based Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) director Sanjay Pattnayak.
The governing council approved the Annual Report and Statement of Accounts of FTII for 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, while revised estimates for 2015-2016 and Budget Estimates for next year 2016-2017 were also sanctioned.
Earlier, Chauhan was accorded a warm welcome by the staff, administration and faculty on his first visit to the prestigious institute.
Addressing the gathering, Chauhan said he would do his best to solve the problems of the FTII, including the long-standing demand of pension for the staff.
