FTII students hopeful for action post Pallavi Joshi's exit

After actress Pallavi Joshi resigned from being part of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) society, students of the facility are hopeful that people understand the issues due to which they have been protesting the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as chairman.

Pallavi, a National Film Award winning talent, reportedly put in her resignation on Sunday.

“Pallavi Joshi’s decision to quit has made us feel more hopeful and understood. We feel a little hopeful that people are understanding the cause and stepping down because it’s not just people who are former FTII students in the governing council body who are stepping down… which means the cause is spreading, people are understanding what is the problem here,” said a student, who didn’t wish to be named.

The students are essentially looking at the dissolution of the current governing council any which way, the student said, and added that it is for the simple reason of making the governing council “more transparent”.

When BJP member Gajendra Chauhan, who played ‘Yudhishthir’ in “Mahabharat”, was appointed as the FTII chief, students protested saying his appointment was politically motivated. Even the institute’s alumni expressed that the head of such a facility should be someone with impressive credentials.

Names like Jahnu Barua and Santosh Sivan had earlier spoken out about their dissent over Chauhan’s appointment.