In a pre-dawn swoop on the FTII campus, police arrested five students on charges of rioting and holding the institute director hostage in his office for nearly six hours. Bollywood folk react to the snowballing controversy...
Shaheen Parkar & Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; August 20, 2015)

Ever since Gajendra Chauhan, best remembered for his role as Yudhisthir in the mythological television series Mahabharat (1988–90), was appointed chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), the country's premier film school has been embroiled in a controversy that is thickening by the day.

In a crackdown late on Tuesday night, police entered the FTII campus and took five students into custody on charges of rioting and unlawful assembly. An FIR was filed against 15 other students. Police action followed a complaint from the institute's director, Prashant Pathrabe, who was gheraoed by the students on Monday evening for resolving to go ahead with the assessment of diploma projects made by the striking students of 2008 batch.

The arrest came hours after news trickled in about Information and Broadcasting ministry officials visiting the institute soon to resolve the ongoing imbroglio. By yesterday evening, the students were granted bail. hitlist speaks to a few Bollywood folk about the latest crisis engulfing the FTII...


Subhash Ghai, Filmmaker and FTII alumnus
It is sad that the whole thing is turning ugly. The government must take immediate steps for the well-being of FTII. After all, the institute has produced the best talent in Indian cinema. FTII is, and will always remain, my mother school in cinema.


Nikhil Advani, Filmmaker
It is extremely tragic that students are not being able to protest peacefully for what is pretty obvious to everyone — a justified demand. On my part, I completely support the students as I feel arts and culture should be devoid of any kind of politics.


Onir, Filmmaker
That the police had to come to the campus is a shame. If as a teacher, you honestly care for students, then you will never call the police to resolve an issue. It is not that the students turned violent. They are getting cornered in every way. It is ridiculous that the government is considering it as an ego issue. It has been more than two months that the institute has not been functioning. The students are suffering and the government doesn't care. If I were in Gajendra Chauhan's place, I would have resigned out of shame. How can you be the head of an institute where nobody wants you? We are a democratic country and have elected representatives, so how can he be so insensitive? The problems need to solved, but the major issue is: Who is going to head the institute? Who is going to treat the students with love and protect them? Who is to care for their future, instead of sending them to jail? The students are observing democratic way of protest which we adopted during the independence struggle. It is non-violent. They did not deserve to be arrested; they are getting frustrated. Students have always been important to shape the nation's future. All political parties have students' wing and now they are saying they should not get influenced by political parties. I am not saying they may have not made a mistake, but sabotage is not the solution.


Irrfan Khan, Actor
The FTII is a creative place where minds are nurtured and where there is food for thought. There should be discipline, but along with that freedom of expression must exist too. A creative mind needs freedom to grow and nurture. The system should protect a beautiful institute like the FTII and not restrict anyone.


Zeishan Quadri, Writer-filmmaker
Arresting students is not an answer to the questions of these FTIIans. It is the right of these students to raise their voice if the faculty of their institution is not up to the mark. They need an answer to this and justice has been denied to them.


Umesh Kulkarni, Marathi film director and FTII alumnus
I condemn the arrest. The government is ignoring the entire issue and they have definitely taken a wrong step. The strike was the right way to mark their protest. All of a sudden when the officials decided to do the assessment of the 2008 batch, students had the right to ask questions to the persons concerned. They were pushed to the brink, but the allegations they have made while arresting the students is wrong. For the past two months, they have not abused or hit anyone. They have called artistes to register their protest. It is democratic. All they were doing is ask logical questions. They have victimised a few students to end the protest forcibly.


Hansal Mehta, Filmmaker
They are trying to assert authority through force. The matter could have been solved between the students and the institute, but it has escalated. I know the students have committed some mistakes and there is no denying it, but at the end of the day, treat them like students and not political prisoners. Without understanding the situation, they are just following diktats to silence the students. I stand by them although I don't necessarily agree with the way they are protesting. I am against the idea of involving politicians like Rahul Gandhi thinking that it will take them anywhere. They should not politicise the matter. At the same time, you need to give them some benefit of doubt since they are students.


Vivek Agnihotri, Filmmaker
I have always been against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan, but that doesn't mean the students should get involved in politics. I am also against politicians like Arvind Kejriwal, Rahul Gandhi and Yogendra Yadav hijacking the issue. The students damaged government property. How can you form a human chain around the institute's director? It is wrong. The students are being instigated by politicians with an agenda. All political parties are thinking about scoring brownie points; they don't feel for the students. Arvind Kejriwal had no business to invite students to Delhi and say that he will give them space to hold classes. It is unfair to say that the government is not doing anything when a student delegation will be meeting the officials today. We always like to believe that the bigger party is at fault. They should sit down and have a dialogue. If you want Gajendra to be ousted, convince the government that the appointment is wrong. Ultimately, things will turn violent, like the way it has now happened. Politics should end first. It is wrong to say that they were pushed to the edge — every criminal will use that excuse to justify his acts. People are only talking to students and asking for their point of view. They have become a victim of politics and the government is also doing politics — both parties have a lot to answer.

THE FTII ISSUE IN A NUTSHELL

June 9: Gajendra Chauhan is appointed as chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) governing council

June 12: Questioning his “creative credentials” and body of work, students launch an indefinite strike; few board members quit shortly after the surprise appointment. Students perceive as the BJP government’s attempt to “saffronise” the campus; support pours in from FTII alumni and renowed film personalities

June 13: All India Students’ Association, Kolkata-based Satyajit Ray Film Institute and students at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, pledge support to the striking
students

June 15: Chauhan urges students to give him “just one chance” to prove himself. Controversy thickens with the choice of a reconstituted FTII panel where half of the eight members are “RSS propagandists”

June 24: Controversial Censor Board chief Pahlaj Nihalani sides with Chauhan, says “nobody has questioned why Congress nominees are on board or part of the panel”

June 28: Information and Broadcasting minister Arun Jaitley appeals to students to resume classes

July 16: FTII director J Narain warns students of administrative action if they don’t resume classes

July 24: Policemen deployed on FTII campus

July 31: Rahul Gandhi meets 250 FTII students in Pune, states government is “systematically promoting mediocrity”

August 2: RTI reveals industry stalwarts like Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Rajkumar Hirani, Ramesh Sippy, Jaya Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Anupam Kher, etc were considered for chairman’s post, but Gajendra’s one-para CV got him the job

August 3: FTII students hold protests outside Jantar Mantar, New Delhi; invited to meet I&B officials for a dialogue for the first time since the strike

August 19: In a pre-dawn crackdown, police arrest five students from the campus on charges of rioting after they gheraoed FTII director Prashant Pathrabe, protesting against the assessment of the incomplete diploma projects; Govt forms three-member team headed by SM Khan, Registrar of Newspapers for India, to assess ground situation

Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; August 10, 2015)

The ideological battle between Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) students and the between of the Centre over the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the institute chairman is likely to draw to an end soon. The students’ protest in New Delhi last week has prompted the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry to initiate a dialogue for the first time since the strike began on June 12, says director and FTII alumnus Umesh Kulkarni.

“After the demonstration near Jantar Mantar, the government invited two student representatives for talks and assured them of working out a solution. They were told that they will be called again for a further discussion and so, they are waiting in Delhi for their next meeting. If matters reach a head, we plan to bring together like-minded people who support the call for Chauhan’s ouster and have a meeting with I&B minister Arun Jaitley on the students’ behalf,” says Kulkarni.

The director is among the several film personalities to have pledged their support to the students’ protest, which entered its 59th day on Sunday. “The institute has delivered so many talented personalities and if the government chooses someone who has no credentials, then the quality of cinema will suffer. The government should not be careless with such appointments,” he adds.

National Award-winning filmmaker Ravi Jadhav says the government “cannot just terminate the protest” without giving the demands of students a serious thought. “When the government has started a Make In India campaign, it needs to pay attention to education in all streams so that the pass-outs are able to contribute in making India better,” he says.

Huma Qureshi opens up about her anti-size zero campaign, link-ups and her Marathi debut
Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 18, 2014)

The living room is simple, sparse and shows no trace of Bollywood chamak dhamak which isn't surprising because Huma Qureshi is anything but filmi. Casual in long skirt, the curvy actress is every bit the role model for the anti-size zero campaign she recently spearheaded with enviable self assurance given that her body has often been the subject of national debate.

She admits that while the sniggers were sometimes hurtful they couldn't dent her innate confidence. "Despite being a girl from a conservative family, I was never made to feel inferior. No one ever told me that I wasn't looking good. But, even in school, I wanted to be the smartest girl rather than the prettiest," she recalls.

Body shape, she insists, would matter only if she were to play an athlete or a super model. "Then as an actor it would be my job to look the part. But otherwise I'm never going to be apologetic about my appearance. Size-zero is a fad impossible to sustain. I get angry when I see 13-year-old girls model clothes made for 25-year-olds. This is the reason for the rise of anorexia and bulimia among teenagers," she reasons.

For now Huma's happy playing an actress in Umesh Kulkarni's Marathi film, Highway. "It is a collage of different stories that unfold on the Mumbai-Pune highway," she says. "I only have to speak a couple of lines in Marathi."

Then there's Sriram Raghavan's Badlapur based on a novel she was specifically told not to read. "Besides my first co-star Nawazuddin (Siddiqui), it has Varun Dhawan whom I call the 'Disney boy' because of his connect with the masses, particularly girls and kids," she laughs, adding that it will offer a new take on the'80s which is why she is rewinding to Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi's popular chartbusters for a Sachin-Jigar song she'll soon dance to.

Also, coming up is Anurag Kashyap's Madam X, based on a Gujarati novel by journalist Ashu Patel. Huma bumped into Tigmashu Dhulia who's scripting the film, at Ekta Kapoor party and when he sounded her out, she immediately gave the film her nod.

"Then both Anurag and Tishu called me up, post Friendship Day, to say they wanted me to play this intelligent, glamorous gangster in this thriller spread across continents. How could I say no to the dream team," she smiles, saying she is waiting for the next call informing her that they will start shooting from the next day.

The rumour mills had recently gone berserk about an alleged Anurag-Huma link-up. She attributes this to the fact that at that time she was a girl from nowhere who had suddenly cropped up on the scene with five releases in a year. "No one knew me or my family then. So there was a lot of loose talk. But now they know that Anurag and I were never more than just friends," she shrugs dismissively.

The rumours about Anurag may have died down but now there are speculations about actor-director Sohail Khan who apparently got her this apartment. She frowns, "I come from a well-to-do family, my father can take care of my needs. Such rumours negate my hard work and achievements. Sohail is like an elder brother. I've got so much love and respect from him and his family during the Celebrity Cricket League."

And what about Rana Duggabatti whom she met at an awards ceremony in Malaysia? She burst out laughing, "What about Rana? My brother (Saqib Salem) was also there with me in Malaysia. We all partied together."

While the actress rubbishes claims of any personal liaison with the Telugu actor, the South India film industry is on her radar. "I'd definitely like to do a South Indian film someday with a filmmaker like SS Rajamouli since the idea is to reach out to as many people as possible."

There's another dream: "I would also like to play a really glamorous character in a big Bollywood film someday."

Uncertainty shrouds the 16th edition of Mumbai Film Festival, as the main sponsor pulls out
Shakti Shetty (MID-DAY; September 1, 2014)

For a city that homes one of the biggest film industries on the planet, it’s quite ironical that its premier film festival is facing an existential crisis.

Mumbai Film Festival (MFF), organised by Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), is scheduled to run from October 14 to October 21. However, that seems uncertain given the event hasn’t attracted any major sponsor for the first time since the turn of the century.

Reliance Entertainment backed the annual event for five straight years before deciding to pull the plug last year citing lack of profit. As a result, the celebrated film fest is struggling to raise an estimated amount of Rs 5 crore that is required for the function to take place. And so far, the crowdfunding measures have attracted an encouraging response from celebs and cinephiles on social media. But still, it’s a long journey ahead and time is running out.


Last year, the festival showcased over 200 films from more than 65 countries. In 2012, Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus was screened at the festival, making its debut in the country. Later, it was not only shown but was also internationally feted at several film festivals. In fact, the directorial debut finally earned a commercial release last year. No wonder Gandhi is saddened by his favourite film festival’s current state of affairs. “It’s really hurtful. I don’t understand how the corporate structure doesn’t fit in with cinema in a country like ours where everybody likes to watch movies. To me, Reliance backing off is bottomline shameful. The company is way too big to say that it’s not making profit with the film festival,” adds the director.

Gandhi has a point because in the West, corporate involvement in international film festivals is commonplace. The mantra is simple: the corporate world can do with some visibility that cinema tends to offer on a plate.

Blame game
Regardless, it’s difficult to blame any one party for the issue. The argument doing the rounds is how the Hindi film industry, which boasts of Rs 100 crore blockbusters, can do a lot more to sustain a cultural event. Moreover, Rs 5 crore seems like a meager amount when you look at the extravagance that Bollywood is so used to. But then, the other side of argument is it’s not incumbent on film studios to help run a film festival.

The United States of America, which boasts of the most number of film festivals in the world, sticks to the corporate structure. However, organisers are generally headed by independent bodies — not film studios — who have the final say in everything, from which films are to be screened to who is going to win the awards.

Speaking of awards, out of its estimated budget, Mumbai Film Festival spent about a crore on handing out prize money to the competition winners.

Putting value
Filmmaker Rohan Sippy is a self-confessed fan of the Mumbai Film Festival. He fondly remembers the inaugural year of the fest. Back then, he assisted his father, filmmaker Ramesh Sippy, with the first edition. And he too disapproves of the dismal situation. “In an ideal world, sponsors would be queuing up considering the pull movies have in our day-to-day life. Unfortunately, that’s not happening.”

Early bloomers
To put it succinctly, the Mumbai Film Festival is not just about providing a week-long visual treat for the aam janta. Many a times, Indian filmmakers, whose works are appreciated worldwide, get a chance to showcase the same to the local crowd. For instance, Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely won multiple awards, including Best Film in the India Gold category at the 14th Mumbai Film Festival. This happened a few months after his film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

Ashim talks about what might be the crux of the financial problem: “Whether it’s Cannes or Venice, money is a major ingredient but at the same time, patience is a priceless commodity, too. We ought to have patrons because it’s not just cinema we are talking about here. Culture is also a matter of concern, isn’t it? The corporate world doesn’t seem to understand this.”

Support base
Last year, The Lunchbox made a lot of headlines not only in India but also in foreign shores. Interestingly, the celebrated movie wasn’t screened at the Mumbai Film Festival.

However, the film’s leading actress, Nimrat Kaur, has been an regular attendee of the festival for quite some time now. “If it weren’t for this film festival, I would have missed out on some really good uncensored films. Of course, in today’s age, one can download to watch these acclaimed films but what can replace the thrill of watching them on the big screen?” asks the actress.


Regional fare
Some of the finest regional films have been showcased and appreciated at this fest. Last year, the Marathi feature film, Fandry, received a lot of accolades for its grim but honest portrayal of class divide. It was screened for the first time in India at this fest; later on, it won an award in the international film category as well. The film’s ensuing journey culminated with the film earning a commercial release this year on Valentine’s Day.

Director Nagraj Manjule is hopeful that the 16th edition goes ahead as per plan and manages to run with as fewer glitches. “Regional cinema can flourish thanks to festivals such as these — it’s a boon, especially for regional filmmakers. They watch and inculcate values and lessons that will shape their thinking as filmmakers.”

Umesh Kulkarni (right), whose films, Vihir (2009) and Deool (2011), were screened at the festival, agrees. “I hope the film festival goes ahead. It’d be a huge loss to the society; it’s not just about money. A festival nourishes both filmmakers as well as the audiences and you can’t put a price tag to that accomplishment,” he points out.

History repeats itself?
In 1998, the second edition of the festival couldn’t take place due to lack of funds. However, the event took place the following year and hasn’t skipped a single year since. “I hope they manage to pull it off this year. To me, it is more about the cultural pluses than the commercial minuses. The event needs patrons and sponsors, and if it works out, well and good. If they don’t, they should at least aim at coming back with a bang next year,” says filmmaker Rohan Sippy.