In his creative life he suffered from what Neville Tuli once described as a, “general apathy towards certain values” and the lack of respect for intangibles like “intellect, integrity, creativity and honesty.” His biggest success is that as a film maker and a teacher, he inspired many to walk their own path, speak in their own voice.
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He was part of a certain generation of greats that gave the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), its most memorable chapters.
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And that is why the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the head of FTII has raised a storm among students who have associated their institution with the credibility of makers like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shyam Benegal and counting.
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Earlier too, there was an uproar when Pahlaj Nihalani was appointed to head the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
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In both cases, the blatant disregard for anything other than the political affiliations of the candidates has been critiqued and the fact that Gajendra is only remembered for a role in BR Chopra’s Mahabharat, has not been palatable to students who want a thought-leader they can look up and who will in the time to come, steer FTII’s policies.
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FTII students have been protesting through online petitions, open letters and in physical spaces against the appointment. National-award-winning editor and former FTII student, Irene Dhar Malik says,” FTII students, contrary to rumours, do not wish to spend their lives striking. They do want to graduate, make films, but they are also not very practical people. They are artistes, they are idealists, and if students don’t raise their voices, we’ll stand to lose a lot. We’ll forget to speak up against wrongs, we’ll learn to make compromises, we’ll stop fighting for what we believe in. We often do all these things as we get sucked into the industry. But if a group of students has the courage and conviction to challenge an appointment that is not just political but absurd, dangerous and demeaning, let’s stand by them.”
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She also adds, “To appoint a head without a credible track-record is absurd. There were strikes in our times too over shifts etc but this times the issue is more serious as it concerns governance.”
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She asks, “Why could they have not appointed someone in the league of a Santosh Sivan or a Rajkumar Hirani and where has Gajendra Singh sprung from? What are his qualifications and what were the procedures followed before he was appointed? These are questions that should be answered. Ministers as we know by now, need no educational qualifications. Take Smriti Irani whose efforts to interfere in the functioning of the system backfire repeatedly.”
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FTII, feels Irene is one of the best run schools in the country with a reputation to maintain. She opines, “We may say that there were issues even when qualified heads guided the institution but if I am not happy with the doctor treating me, I am not going to go to a quack to get healed.”
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Editor and former FTII student Jabeen Merchant whose credits include the recent hit NH10 is equally at loss and says, “I passed out of FTII 20 years ago but what has not changed till date is the huge symbolic significance of the post of the chairman of the governing council and the president of the FTII Society which is packed with eminent people from different walks of life. The person heading both these bodies is the face of FTII, not just in India but internationally. FTII has been the creative space of luminaries like Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Adoor and scores of Dada Saheb Phalke award winners and Jnanpith Award winners. It is an institution of great value and the post in the heart of the controversy is extremely prestigious and it is easy to see why Gajendra Chauhan does not measure up.”
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She also points out that the new appointment was due before the general elections and it has taken the current government more than a year to act and Chauhan himself has been saying that his appointment was in the works for six months. The strategy reeks of an agenda, she says and agrees that the protests by students have a political colour.”
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She is worried about the state of affairs at the campus and says, “The students have taken a remarkable stand and even the ex-students’ association is strongly supporting them. We are all concerned that there is an ongoing strike that has stalled all work at the campus and we hope that there will be a constructive way forward.”
with The New Indian Express Reema Moudgil works for The New Indian Express, Bangalore, is the author of Perfect Eight, the editor of Chicken Soup for the Soul-Indian Women, an artist, a former RJ and a mother. She dreams of a cottage of her own that opens to a garden and where she can write more books, paint, listen to music and just be silent with her cats.