Close on the heels of R Madhavan’s directorial debut Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (2022) winning the Best Feature Film Award at the 69th National Film Awards, the actor-filmmaker has been appointed president of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).

Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Singh Thakur took to X to make the announcement: “I’m sure that your vast experience & strong ethics will enrich this institute, bring positive changes, and take it to a higher level. My best wishes to you (sic).”

Madhavan replied, “Thank you so very much for the honour and kind wishes @ianuragthakur Ji. I will do my very best to live up to all the expectations (sic).”

The 53-year-old, who has been appointed as president and chairman of the governing council of FTII for a period of three years, takes over from filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, whose tenure ended two months ago.