Actor R Madhavan visited the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Pune on Thursday, October 5, for the first time after his appointment as chairman of the institute. During his visit on Wednesday and Thursday (October 4 and 5), he interacted with FTII students, faculty and staff.
On October 6, in a press note, the student community at the institute informed that the actor met Mankap Nokwoham, President of FTII Students' Association, and General Secretary Sayantan Chakrabarti, to discuss various issues concerning the institute and its stakeholders.
Here's a list of the issues discussed (as penned by the student community):
1. Reconstitution of the Governing Council (GC): The GC of FTII has not been reconstituted since 2020, which has led to the exclusion of four members of FTII alumni and eight members of film, TV, and theatre experts as mandated by the rules
2. Representation in the Academic Council: The demand for full representation of student representatives and heads of departments (HoDs) in the Academic Council of FTII, including voting rights, was raised during the meeting
3. Institute of National Importance status: The student representatives emphasised the importance of FTII being granted the status of an Institute of National Importance, which would help improve infrastructure and technology at FTII through substantial funding
4. Equipment procurement issues: Concerns related to equipment procurement were discussed, with a focus on enhancing the learning experience for students
5. Staff payment delays: Consistently delayed staff payments, which adversely affect the functioning of the institution, were raised as a matter of great concern
6. Studio construction delays: Shockingly, studio construction, which was initially planned for completion by 2016, as per the 76th Academic Council Meeting, has not even begun, severely hampering students' practical learning opportunities
7. Online entrance exam issues: The ongoing problems associated with the online entrance test were examined, with a focus on improving the process for future applicants
8. Dialogue exercise new guidelines controversy: The contentious new guidelines imposed on the 2020 batch, reducing 1/3rd of pre-production, production, and post-production of the crucial dialogue exercises, were discussed in detail
9. State scholarship: FTII receives scholarships for students on the basis of merit, caste or gender from a few states in India. Student representatives requested Madhavan to personally look into this matter for getting scholarships from the remaining state which support the learning of students economically
The students sought the actor's intervention in addressing these issues and urged him to make frequent visits to the institute. They also seemed to be disappointed that Madhavan did not meet the broader student community of FTII during this visit.
