Anupam Kher is new FTII chairman; replaces Gajendra Chauhan as head of prestigious institute

It’s official. Anupam Kher is the new FTII chairman, reports Times Now.

Veteran actor Anupam Kher is new Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Chairman pic.twitter.com/NQaM7A0hd5

— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) October 11, 2017

He succeeds controversial chairman Gajendra Chauhan, who stepped down in March this year. The Chauhan-led team was given the charge in June 2015. His appointment had sparked a controversy and the students of FTII had gone on a strike for more than four months.

Anupam Kher has been a vocal supporter of the BJP, while his wife Kirron Kher is an MP from Chandigarh.

On critics describing him as a Modi ‘chamcha’ (sycophant) Kher said, “I am better off being called a chamcha of Narendra Modi, than a ‘balti’ of somebody else. They are using this word (chamcha) to put me on the defensive. I am a ‘chamcha’ of thespian Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan too,” according to PTI.

“If you use the word ‘chamcha’ for admiration, it is perfectly alright with me, because after a long time we now have a Prime Minister who has brought emotions in me for my country, a man whose career graph is not a fluke, a man who did not enter politics as part of any legacy.”

Husband of BJP MP from Chandigarh, Kirron Kher, the actor ruled out joining politics in the near future in recent interviews, saying he valued his freedom more than joining any political party

FTII is a prestigious film and TV institute in Pune that has given Indian cinema many gems, including Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Jaya Bachchan and more recently Rajkummar Rao. Filmmakers like Raju Hirani and Sanjay Leela Bhansali are also FTII alumni.

The list of its previous chairmans are impressive, and includes Adoor Gopalakrishna, Shyam Benegal and Girish Karnad to name a few.

With inputs from PTI