He said Gajendra Chauhan is not qualified to be chairman of FTII as it’s not an ordinary institute.
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Shah, who received his only national award for the 1983 cult classic, is all set to return it on Thursday in Mumbai along with several others from his fraternity. “The only thing is that I hope the government gets the point, and suitably amends its strategy without ridiculing the intent of these filmmakers”.
Shah also told IE that he was returning the award because “darkness was coming to the country” and that he wanted to take a stern stance before it “engulfed everybody”.
Kundan Shah, maker of iconic film Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, ex-Chairman of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Saeed Mirza and cinematographer Virendra Saini, are among the 24 who returned their National Awards.
“This has been the consistent response of the powers that be towards the writers, academics, scientists, historians, filmmakers and artists, who have expressed their dismay over the increasing climate of intolerance”, the statement read.
In a press conference at the Mumbai Press Club, the delegation shared the letter that they had written to the Prime Minister and the President requesting them to resolve the crisis at FTII and also to ensure that the right to freedom of speech is unambiguously protected. First of all, “intolerance” is the wrong word to use for the lynching, shooting, burning and mass murder of fellow human beings. “Second, we had plenty of advance notice of what lay in store for us-so I can not claim to be shocked by what has happened after this government was enthusiastically voted into office with an overwhelming majority”. She had received the 1989 National Film Award for Best Screenplay for the documentary “In which Annie Gives it to those Ones”.
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Mr. Mirza, chairperson of the FTII governing council from 2013-2014 and director of films like Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai and the TV show Nukkad, said the protest by FTII students had become a bigger movement against intolerance, divisiveness and the interference of the government in culture and education. But it will discover soon enough that we are just the tip of the iceberg… Even others are coming out, I think. “And we will see that they stand exposed to the country”, he added. But I respect the protest. She added that the entire appointment process should be transparent. “In recent months we have witnessed an erosion of the space from which such initiatives can stem”.
