Mumbai: Students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) have opposed the appointment of veteran actor Anupam Kher as its chairperson, while Bollywood seemed to welcome the move.
Opposing Mr Kher’s appointment, Robin Joy, president, FTII Students’ Association, said, “How can the government appoint him as head of a institute when he himself owns and runs an acting school? This is conflict of interest. Besides, his wife (Kiron Kher) is a BJP MP and he is known as a right-wing man.”
Mr Joy further said, “Even though his credentials are good, that does not mean his opinions or views would change. He has called the media ‘prostitutes’, he called Jawaharlal Nehru University students ‘anti-nationals’. He said FTII has ‘gone to dogs’ during the strike by FTII students in 2015 while opposing Gajendra Chouhan (the then chairperson).”
Though students have not decided on their course of action, they have registered their opposition to Mr Kher’s appointment.
Welcoming Mr Kher’s appointment, director Hansal Mehta said, “It’s a good move. The students were agitated so I think this is a good sign.”
“What changes he brings is something time will tell. I hope he resolves all the issues that the institution has been facing,” said Mr Mehta, who has made films like Shahid (2012) and Aligarh (2015).
Actress Pallavi Joshi also backed Mr Kher. “His exposure and knowledge about world cinema and film industry is general is very high. I think he’s going to be a great inspiration for the students,” said Ms Joshi, who has starred in movies like Woh Chokri (1994) and The Making of the Mahatma (1996).
While Mr Kher has established acting credentials, the fact that he runs his own film school, Actor Prepares, has raised the question of conflict of interest.
Director Avinash Das, who recently made the film Anaarkali of Aarah, said, “Anupam has definitely contributed immensely to Indian cinema and arts, but the thing is he’s already running his own acting school... I am not very sure if he’ll be able to justify his position since he’s juggling a lot of things. He might have to step down from one of the positions, or shuffle between heading two institutions,”
