FTII should be taken seriously: Anupam Kher

New Delhi: Newly-appointed Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Chairperson Anupam Kher says that the institute is a place which is the future of the entertainment department and should be taken seriously.

Talking about improving the condition of FTII, Anupam said: "Intention is the most important factor. The blueprint has to be made. Unfortunately, in the last few years FTII has been projected as a troubled place whether it is the students strike; whether it was the appointment of the previous chairman; lots of things. I think it is an institution that should be taken seriously; it is a place where people are trained."

Anupam added in an interview to CNN-News18 that FTII is is an institution, which has produced some of the "finest actors, directors, producers, cameraman, technicians and sound people". 

"It's a place, which is the future of the entertainment department. So that needs to be perfected and what I bring in is not my knowledge, it's my earnestness."

Anupam was on October 11 announced as the new Chairperson of FTII. He succeeded the controversial Gajendra Chauhan, whose appointment in 2014 had triggered widespread student protests.

"Whenever you go back to your earlier school, you feel it's not the same. So, that was my first reaction that it's not the same place but that was my first visit about 15 days back. When I went yesterday, I started getting excited about the studio, the facilities, the wisdom tree, the quietness," he added.

Anupam said that the place is replaced by the energy now. "There are no placards saying that we are unhappy."

"I am an eternal optimist. I think I have made it because of my optimism. I see what is positive about in a person and what is positive about a place. So, I don't see 'arey yeh problem' (Oh! this problem) … that will bog me down," he added.