Chauhan appointed for his portrayal as 'Yudhishthir'?

New Delhi / Pune, Aug 2

It would appear that Bharatiya Janata Party member and actor Gajendra Chauhan's appointment to the Chair of the Governing Council of the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India (FT)) was made on the basis of a CV containing a single para, with the actor's only notable achievement being his role in the television mega series ‘Mahabharat’. 

"Gajendra Chauhan is an actor who is best known for his portrayal of the eldest Pandava 'Yudhishthira' in the Mahabharat (TV series). He has worked in around 150 movies and over 600 TV serials," a copy of a file noting received from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in response to an RTI query said.

The applicant had sought information about educational and professional qualifications of Gajendra Chauhan for his selection to the position, among other queries.

The 281-page record provided by the Ministry includes detailed resume of other stalwarts once proposed for the Chair, but the only reference to Chauhan's qualification is a one-paragraph summary.

The file notings related to appointment of Chauhan show that many stalwarts of Indian cinema, including Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Jahnu Baruah, Raju Hirani, Jaya Bachchan, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Ramesh Sippy, Govind Nihalani and Aamir Khan, were considered for the position.

These names were proposed by the FTII for the position in 2014, the notings received under the Right to Information Act show.

Apart from the single paragraph file noting, which spoke of Chauhan's portrayal of Yudhishthir and the number of films and serials he has acted in, the Ministry did not provide any details of his body of work or his CV that were considered ahead of his appointment as FTII chief.

With protesting FTII students already claiming that Chauhan's appointment to FTII's Chair was politically coloured, with no regard given to his lack of credentials, the information would assume particular significance.

Chauhan’s list of movies includes ‘Jungle Love’, ‘Khuli Khidki’ and ‘Vasna’, all of which are considered B-grade.

FTII students to hold protest in Delhi

Eighty students of FTII will hold a demonstration in the national capital on Monday.

"We will start our march from Jantar Mantar and head for the Parliament Street and will be joined by activists of other like-minded organisations to express their solidarity on the issue, which involves preservation of the Film and Television Institute of India's artistic and academic excellence and ethos," FTII Students' Association (FSA) representative Ranjit Nair said on Sunday.

The Central Government has categorically refused to hold any talks with the students after negotiations with the Information and Broadcast (I&B) Ministry on July 3 in the national capital ended in a stalemate.

FTII students have been protesting since June 12 against Chauhan’s appointment.

The Central Government and actor, however, have thus far steadfastly refused to heed to the students. 

The agitation, which has already seen several known names from the world of cinema —Bollywood as well as documentary makers among them— support the agitation, has assumed political shades since it began. While the RSS accused the students of having what they call an anti-Hindu ideology, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who visited the institute on Friday, has, in turn, accused the RSS of attempting to “promote mediocrity” at the institute.    

The institute has even threatened protesting students with suspension unless they called of their boycott and resumed classes. — PTI