Kundan Shah: I owe my National Award to FTII

Kundan Shah besides 23 others who returned their National Awards to protest against Gajendra Chauhan's appointment as FTII chief

Eminent filmmakers and technicians have stepped up the protest against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as chairman of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) by deciding to return their National Awards. The list includes directors Kundan Shah and Saeed Mirza.

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From left: MP Satheesh, Madhusree Dutta, Saeed Mirza, Kundan Shah, Irene Dhar Malik and Bina Sarkar. Pic/Onkar Devlekar

"I owe this award to my alma mater, FTII. There would have been no 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro' (1983) if I hadn't studied there. We want to ask if Gajendra Chauhan is the right person to head FTII. It is like a slap on the thinking populace of this country," said Shah at a press conference held yesterday.

Mirza, who is a former FTII director, says, "We do not have any political agenda. We are not only addressing the issue of FTII, but many other things too, like the killing of rationalists."

Also read: Zoya Akhtar: Would have given up national award if I had it

Others who joined the 'award waapsi' gang include directors Anwar Jamal, Virendra Saini, Pradip Krishnen, Manoj Lobo, Amitabh Chakraborty, Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti, filmmakers Tapan Bose and Madhusree Dutta, editor Irene Dhar Malik, cinematographer Satya Rai Nagpaul, sound designers Vivek Sachidanand, PM Satheesh and Ajay Raina.

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