New Delhi, Actor-politician Gajendra Chauhan on Tuesday congratulated Cannes winner Payal Kapadia, saying he was proud of the filmmaker, who studied at the institute when he was its president.
Last week, Kapadia became the first Indian filmmaker to win the Grand Prix award for the Malayalam-Hindi feature film "All We Imagine as Light", the second-highest honor at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
In 2015, Kapadia was one of the protesting students who went on strike to protest against Chauhan's appointment as chairman of the Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
"Congratulations to her and I am proud that I was the chairman when she was doing her course there," Chauhan said.
Asked what he would like to say about Kapadia who had opposed his appointment, the 'Mahabharat' actor said, "He never said anything about me so what can I say?"
According to the protesting students, Chauhan does not match the vision and stature of previous chairmen of the FTII Governing Council, and his appointment appears to be "politically coloured".During the 139-day strike, students had allegedly surrounded and held the then FTII Director Prashant Patharabe in his office over some academic issues. This led to the police entering the premises and arresting some protesters.
Chouhan, who was the president from 7 January 2016 to 2 March 2017, claimed that the protests were not against him.
He said, “That protest was not against me, it was against the director and the administration. I was appointed by the Government of India.I worked a lot in FTII and the media never reported about it."
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has nominated FTII Chairman, currently, actor R Madhavan holds the post.
Chauhan said that he was neither dismissed from the job nor has he resigned.
He said, "I was never dismissed, I completed my tenure. Some people say that Gajendra Chauhan resigned, I never resigned."
In 2015, 35 students, including Kapadia, were booked under sections 143, 147, 149, 323, 353 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, some of which related to non-bailable, unlawful assembly, criminal intimidation and rioting.,
The filmmaker's documentary "A Night of Knowing Nothing" depicts the protests at FTII.
Kapadia's film "All We Imagine as Light" is the first film from India to be selected as part of the Cannes main competition in 30 years, the last film being Shaji Karun's 1994 Malayalam film "Swaham".
Last week, Kapadia became the first Indian filmmaker to win the Grand Prix award for the Malayalam-Hindi feature film "All We Imagine as Light", the second-highest honor at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
In 2015, Kapadia was one of the protesting students who went on strike to protest against Chauhan's appointment as chairman of the Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
"Congratulations to her and I am proud that I was the chairman when she was doing her course there," Chauhan said.
Asked what he would like to say about Kapadia who had opposed his appointment, the 'Mahabharat' actor said, "He never said anything about me so what can I say?"
According to the protesting students, Chauhan does not match the vision and stature of previous chairmen of the FTII Governing Council, and his appointment appears to be "politically coloured".During the 139-day strike, students had allegedly surrounded and held the then FTII Director Prashant Patharabe in his office over some academic issues. This led to the police entering the premises and arresting some protesters.
Chouhan, who was the president from 7 January 2016 to 2 March 2017, claimed that the protests were not against him.
He said, “That protest was not against me, it was against the director and the administration. I was appointed by the Government of India.I worked a lot in FTII and the media never reported about it."
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has nominated FTII Chairman, currently, actor R Madhavan holds the post.
Chauhan said that he was neither dismissed from the job nor has he resigned.
He said, "I was never dismissed, I completed my tenure. Some people say that Gajendra Chauhan resigned, I never resigned."
In 2015, 35 students, including Kapadia, were booked under sections 143, 147, 149, 323, 353 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, some of which related to non-bailable, unlawful assembly, criminal intimidation and rioting.,
The filmmaker's documentary "A Night of Knowing Nothing" depicts the protests at FTII.
Kapadia's film "All We Imagine as Light" is the first film from India to be selected as part of the Cannes main competition in 30 years, the last film being Shaji Karun's 1994 Malayalam film "Swaham".
