Anupam
Kher
becomes
new
Chairman
of
FTII
|
FilmiBeat
Veteran
actor
Anupam
Kher
is
recently
appointed
chairman
of
the
Film
and
Television
Institute
of
India,
succeeding
Gajendra
Chauhan
who
had
a
controversial
tenure
as
head
of
the
Pune-based
institute,
officials
in
the
Ministry
of
Information
and
Broadcasting
said.
Kher,
62,
said
he
was
"deeply
humbled
and
honoured"
to
be
appointed
chairman
of
the
"iconic
FTII".
"I
will
perform
my
duties
to
the
best
of
my
abilities,"
he
said
in
a
tweet.
The
actor
said
he
will
join
his
new
post
with
a
clear
state
of
mind
as
he
never
faced
a
controversial
situation.
Kher,
a
graduate
from
Delhi's
National
School
of
Drama
(NSD),
is
considered
to
be
close
to
BJP.
The
actor,
who
has
appeared
in
over
500
films
and
many
plays,
was
conferred
the
Padma
Shri
in
2004
and
the
Padma
Bhushan
in
2016
for
his
contribution
in
the
field
of
cinema
and
arts.
His
predecessor,
best
known
for
playing
Yudhisthir
in
the
TV
show
Mahabharata,
helmed
the
institute
for
about
two
years.
Chauhan's
tenure,
which
ended
in
March
this
year,
was
marked
by
a
139-day
strike
by
students
protesting
what
they
perceived
was
a
politically-motivated
appointment.
Chauhan
congratulated
Kher
but
wished
he
had
more
time
to
finish
the
work
he
started
at
the
FTII.
"I
have
conveyed
my
best
wishes
to
Anupam
ji.
I
just
wish
the
government
had
given
me
more
time
to
finish
the
work
that
I
started.
I
just
had
one
year
and
two
months
to
do
that,"
he
told
PTI.
"The
FTII
is
facing
basic
problems
and
needs
a
good
administrator.
I
am
sure
Anupam
ji
will
work
towards
resolving
these
problems,"
Chauhan
added.
Kher's
wife
Kirron
Kher,
the
BJP
MP
from
Chandigarh,
was
amongst
the
first
to
congratulate
him.
"Congratulations
my
dear
@AnupamPkher
for
becoming
FTII
Chairman!
Know
you
will
do
a
great
job!,"
she
said
on
Twitter.
Born
on
March
7,
1955,
in
Shimla,
Kher
completed
his
education
from
the
D
A
V
School
in
the
city.
He
has
previously
held
the
post
of
chairman
of
the
Central
Board
of
Film
Certification
and
director
of
NSD.
Considered
one
of
the
Hindi
film
industry's
most
prolific
and
versatile
actors,
Kher
made
his
acting
debut
in
1982
with
Aagman,
but
the
1984
Mahesh
Bhatt
film
Saaransh
was
his
breakout
role.
Then
just
28,
Kher
played
the
role
of
a
retired
middle
class
man
grappling
with
his
son's
death.
After
"Saaransh",
he
went
on
to
star
opposite
many
big
Bollywood
celebrities,
including
Anil
Kapoor,
Shah
Rukh
Khan,
Salman
Khan
and
Akshay
Kumar,
sometimes
as
the
villain,
the
comic
relief
or
the
friendly
father.
In
2002,
he
attempted
to
become
director
with
"Om
Jai
Jagadish"
but
the
film
was
not
a
success.
Kher
is
one
of
the
few
Indian
actors
to
have
crossed
over
to
international
cinema
with
films
such
as
the
2002
Golden
Globe
nominated
Bend
It
Like
Beckham,
Ang
Lee's
2007
Golden
Lion-winning
Lust,
Caution,
and
David
O
Russell's
2013
Oscar-winning
Silver
Linings
Playbook.
Kher
has
also
written
and
starred
in
a
play
about
his
own
life
called
Kucch
Bhi
Ho
Sakta
Hai,
which
was
directed
by
Feroz
Abbas
Khan.
PTI