No director for FTII yet

PUNE: It looks like the Film and Television Institute of India’s (FTII) search for a “permanent director� is not yet over.
Realising the exigency and delay in the appointment of a “permanent director�, members of the institute’s governing council (GC) had short-listed and forwarded names of three deserving candidates to the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry by the end of March.
However, though a month has passed and the institute is busy preparing for its fresh batch of students in June, the I&B ministry has not yet appointed a permanent director at the country’s premier film-making school.
FTII chairman U.R. Ananthmurthy told TNN on May 2, “I do not understand why officials at the I&B ministry are delaying the appointment.�
He said all the three candidates had carved a niche for themselves in their respective fields. “The first candidate is a person from the realm of theatre, the second from literature, while the third is an excellent administrator with a keen interest in cinema,� Ananthmurthy said.
For the past year, FTII’s officiating director Prem Matiyani has been spearheading the day-to-day administration of the institute, shuttling between Delhi and Pune.
However, Ananthmurthy is unhappy with this kind of an administrative set-up for FTII, the only government recognised institute in the country which teaches students the art of making films.
“This cannot go on forever. FTII students and teachers need a full-time director to discuss and solve their grievances and doubts. On the one hand, we plan to seek the status of a deemed university for FTII from the University Grants Commission (UGC), while on the other, the institute does not even have fulltime director. How can this be possible,� he said.
Ananthmurthy said he had personally met the I&B minister a fortnight ago and requested him to appoint a “permanent director� for FTII on top priority. “Personally speaking, there has been no delay from our side this time.
So there is no reason why the institute cannot have a permanent director in the first week of May,� he said, adding that he would immediately send another reminder to the minister.
It may be recalled that on March 22, 2003, the FTII Students’ Association had issued a press release expressing their apprehension over the prevailing confusion in the appointment of a director for the institute. The confusion can be traced to the period from 1996-97, when the institute was without a permanent director until Mohan Agashe took over in 1997.
However, after Agashe tendered his resignation in 2002, the institute had L.K. Upadhyaya and now Matiyani as its officiating directors.