Anupam Kher is new FTII chairman

Bollywood filmmaker and actor Anupam Kher is the new chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry on Wednesday announced the appointment of Kher about eight months after actor Gajendra Chouhan completed his term as the FTII chairman.

Chouhan, a television actor and a BJP member, had a contentious term as the FTII chairman since his appointment in September 2015. Students of the institute held over a four-month-long strike in the campus in protest against his appointment along with some others in the FTII governing body.      

Before his term as FTII chairman came to an end in February this year, Chouhan approached the I&B Ministry seeking an extension of his tenure on the ground. The ministry, however, did not accept his request.

“I feel deeply humbled & honoured to be apportioned as the Chairman of iconic #FTII. I will perform my duties to the best of my abilities,” Kher tweeted in his response.

Speaking to a multi-media news agency, the Bollywood filmmaker described it as “an important day” to him.   

“It seldom happens that you become chairman of the place where you were once a student,” the news agency quoted the new FTII chairman as saying.

Kher has served as the Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in past. He also served as the director of National School of Drama from 2001 to 2004. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama (1978 batch).

He made his acting debut in Hindi film Aagman in the 1982 and has appeared in over 500 films so far.

Kher, who was the recipient of the Padma Shri in 2004 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016 for his contribution to the field of cinema and arts, has won several national and international awards and recognitions during his career in film industry.

He has won the ‘Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role’ five times.

Kher, who appeared in several acclaimed international films, also appeared in more than 100 plays.

He also authored a book ‘The Best Thing About You Is You’.

Anupam Kher has been a vocal supporter of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). His wife Kirron Kher is a BJP leader and Member of Parliament (MP) from Chandigarh.

On November 7, 2015, he led a marching contingent of film personalities, artists and writers to the then President Pranab Mukherjee to air a counter-voice against the ongoing bogey of protests over “rising intolerance in the country.”