New Delhi/Pune: One paragraph of CV was enough for actor Gajendra Chauhan to surpass other luminaries in fray to be the chief of the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India. This is what an RTI inquiry revels.
“Gajendra Chauhan is an actor who is best known for his portrayal of the eldest Pandava ‘Yudhishtira’ in the Mahabharat (TV series). He has worked in around 150 movies and over 600 TV serials,” a note by the information and broadcasting ministry says.
The applicant had sought information about the actor’s educational and professional qualifications, which were considered for his selection as FTII president.
The 281-page record provided by the ministry includes detailed resume of other stalwarts, once proposed for FTII presidentship, but the only reference to his qualification is a one-paragraph summary.
The file notings related to the appointment of Mr 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 post earlier.
These names were proposed by the FTII for the post of president in 2014, the notings show.
Apart from that, the ministry did not provide any details of his qualification and work.
Though the applicant had also sought copies of all the reasons recorded for Mr Chauhan’s selection, the information provided by the ministry does not show any reason in defence of his appointment.
The ministry was also silent on why he was preferred to the doyens of cinema whose names were once proposed by the FTII.
Protest against Gajendra Chauhan to reach Delhi today
Intensifying their 52-day-old stir for removal of BJP member Gajendra Chauhan as FTII’s chairman, nearly 80 agitating students on Sunday left for Delhi to hold a protest there on Monday. The students have been protesting against Mr Chauhan’s appointment since June 12, saying he lacked “vision and artistic credentials” to merit the post. “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 FTII’s excellence,” FTII Students’ Association (FSA) representative Ranjit Nair said.
