No Quick Solution To Student Unrest At FTII

<div><em>If the FTII protest continues, future aspirants will be left with no option but to turn to private film academies, writes<strong> D.P. Sharan</strong></em></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>With the intervention of Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi and political activist Yogendra Yadav into about two-month old students' strike in the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), the unrest on the campus is unlikely to be resolved soon. If striking students are encouraged with outside political support, the Government has virtually refused to succumb to political pressure from the opposition.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>But the pertinent question about the locus standi of the striking students to oppose the appointment of the head of the institution, Chairman Ganjendra Chauhan, that has been duly made by the Union Government, and the determined stand of the Government against their demand - remains unanswered.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Indeed, the striking students are enjoying support from Bollywood veterans while the Government has its own justification in denying the removal of Chauhan from his post. But is Bollywood in right earnest about expressing concerns about the students' careers? Or, is the Government steadfast in its denial merely to protect the interests of the institution?</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Interestingly, if the students claim that Chauhan is not qualified for the post, their supporters from Bollywood - barring a few - have hardly any right to beat their chests in righteous indignation for the wellbeing of the students as they are neither products of the FTII nor do they know functioning of the institute. Most of them, in fact, have strongholds in Bollywood due to their family background and they never required to be taught about film-production from FTII. On the other hand, there are lapses on the part of the Government that it did not go for the best possible option it had while appointing the Chairman to the institution.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>If the official reply to the query under the RTI Act is to be believed, the Government had innumerable choices that included the names of film industry's stalwarts like Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Amir Khan, Rajnikant, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Jahnu Baruah, Raju Hirani, Adoor Gopalkrishnan, Ramesh Sippy and Govind Nihlani besides that of Gajendra Chauhan for the post of Chairman of FTII. The Government preferred to remain silent about why the big names were set aside.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>As per the 281-page official dossier - made available by RTI which included detailed resumes of stalwarts of Indian Cinema - a single paragraph resolution was all that was shown to justify Chauhan's appointment. The resolution envisages that Chauhan played the role of Yudhisthir in B.R. Chopra's TV serial Mahabharat and acted in about 150 movies and 600 TV serials. Details about his educational and professional qualifications were, however, not provided by the Government under RTI.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>As far as implication of the present stir is concerned, neither the students nor the Government will reap any benefit without an amicable truce. While the students - who are presumed to have received political support - are unlikely to develop cordial relations with Chauhan even if they reconcile to withdraw the agitation under duress, the Government will suffer a major loss of face if it has to succumb to the pressure from the opposition and replace Chauhan. The stir, however, will satisfy the ulterior motives of forces aspiring to gain political mileage and a professional edge as well.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Rahul Gandhi has already pledged to lend all out support to the demand of the students and if the Government succumbed to the demand of the students, it would implicitly provide impetus to his arduous attempts to sway the youth.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Apart from the political support being lent to the agitation, possibility of a well-hatched conspiracy to reap professional benefits in the garb of standing by the stir cannot be ruled out.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The FTII is supposed to have been a stumbling block in the growth of different private film academies situated in the country and abroad as well. Since this Government-owned premier institution offers cost-effective courses to aspirants in particular, it poses a major threat to the survival of these private film academies.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>In comparison to Bollywood veteran Subhash Ghai-owned Whistling Woods International Film Institute and New York Film Academy, FTII offers attractive courses at low costs. In fact, FTII receives Government grants while WWI and NYFA have to manage with their own resources instead. If FTII official records are to be believed, about four lakh students appear every year for admission in the institution. Although FTII is unable to accommodate most of the aspirants for want of infrastructure, private film academies fail to cash-in on the situation by wooing those who are denied by the FTII owing to the high cost of their courses.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>If agitation in the FTII prolongs, future aspirants will be left with no option but to turn to private film academies. Striking students are, however, presumably not only enjoying political support to continue with their stir but they are being provided with financial aid too from outside the campus to maintain a status quo for obvious reasons, a senior official at I &amp; B Ministry believes.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>A veteran film producer and chief of a Government-owned film regulatory body requesting anonymity claimed that "private film academies are such temples where gods have not yet descended and as such, the interests of FTII must be protected at any cost for future of the film industry."</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Former Information &amp; Broadcasting Minister, Manish Tewary contended: "It is onus on the Government to protect its premium institutions and it cannot run away from its responsibility to restore amicable academic atmosphere on the FTII campus as such."</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><em>(The views expressed in this column are personal)</em></div>