Adoor Gopalakrishnan Slams Jaitley’s FTII Privatisation Warning

Arun Jaitley’s veiled threat to privatise FTII is slammed by former FTII Chairman Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Adoor Gopalakrishnan (Photo: Twitter/@AnthemPress) stands by FTII students as he lashed out against Arun Jaitley (Photo: Reuters)

Celebrated filmmaker and former FTII Chairman, Adoor Gopalakrishnan has critised I&B Minister Arun Jaitley’s alleged warning to students about transferring the administration of the government run film school into private hands, during talks between the students and the ministry.

According to a report in Mid-Day, Gopalakrishnan said:

Why don’t they privatise the government, or the high court for that matter? The students’ stand is justified. They feel that the institution will be in great danger because those who have been inducted into the general body do not have adequate credentials to hold such positions. Other than a few students in the community, others don’t have any sense of eminence. Besides, Chauhan and others make it sound like FTII is just another school. It is a place where mature people across the lengths and breadths of the country come to become filmmakers.
– Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Filmmaker

Former FTII Chairman and Filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan presenting a certificate to a FTII student in 1989 (Photo: Twitter/@manojdialogue)

There continues to be a deadlock between the government and FTII students who are on strike against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the new Chairman of the film institute.