Vijay Varma Responds to Gajendra Chauhan Saying He Is 'Proud' Of Payal Kapadia

Cannes winner Payal Kapadia led protests against the appointment of Chauhan as FTII Chairman in 2015.

Vijay Varma reacts to Gajendra Chauhan congratulating Payal Kapadia for her Cannes win.

(Picture Courtesy: Instagram, X)

Actor Vijay Varma took to social media to react to former Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) chairman Gajendra Chauhan congratulating Payal Kapadia for winning the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival for her film All We Imagine As Light. Vijay himself is an alumnus of FTII.

In 2015, Payal led student protests opposing Chauhan's appointment as the chairman of the Pune-based institute. The strike led to the institute revoking Payal's grant and even filing an FIR against her and the other students.

Now, speaking to PTI Chauhan said, "“Congratulations to her and I feel proud that I was the chairman at the time when she was doing the course there.”

Calling out the irony Vijay wrote on Instagram, "Sir ye chup rehne ka time tha.."(Sir, you should have kept quiet). He also added a meme which said, "Karwali bezatti? (Got insulted?)"

Vijay Varma reacts to Gajendra Chauhan's statement.

(Picture Courtesy: Instagram)

Payal became the first Indian filmmaker to win the Grand Prix, the second-highest honour at Cannes after Palme d'Or. All We Imagine As Light stars Divya Prabha, Kani Kusruti, Azees Haneefa, Hridhu Haroon, Lovleen Misra and Chhaya Kadam.