Students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) had been eagerly awaiting the appointment of a new director for the past seven months. Finally, Mr. Anupam Kher has been appointed as the new Chairman of FTII. He has replaced Mr. Gajendra Chauhan, whose term had ended in March 2017.
Earlier, FTII was headed by legendary film personalities like Mahesh Bhatt, Girish Karnad, Mrinal Sen, Saeed Mirza, Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Shyam Benegal.
Mr. Anupam Kher has appeared in more than 500 films and has been associated with several theatre circles. He has also been a part of renowned international films like Caution, Lust, Playbook and Bend it Like Beckham etc. Mr. Kher also held the posts of Chairperson of National School of Drama and Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in the past.
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Recently, Mr. Kher appeared in various Hindi films like Special 26, Naam Shabhana, M.S Dhoni - The Untold Story, Toilet - Ek Prem Katha and others. Kher has also received prestigious awards like Padma Bhushan in 2016 and Padma Shri in 2004.
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In August 2017, FTII took a historic decision to screen diploma films made by the alumni of the Institute for the public . The screening of diploma films began on August 5, 2017, with are made public once in a week. Veteran actor Mr. Shatrugna Sinha graced the inaugural ceremony of screening diploma films. ‘Angry Youngman’, the movie in which Mr. Sinha acted was the first diploma film screened for the public during the inaugural ceremony. Usually, the students of FTII make diploma films as a part of their project work.
FTII’s idea to screen the diploma films made by students in Doordarshan is yet to be approved by Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.