In an unexpected turn of events, actor-politician Gajendra Chauhan congratulated Cannes winner Payal Kapadia, who studied at the Film and Television Institute of India when he served as its chairman. Last week, Kapadia became the first Indian filmmaker to win the Grand Prix award, the second highest honour at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, for her Malayalam-Hindi feature film All We Imagine As Light. What makes Chauhan’s well-wishes atypical, however, is that back in 2015, Kapadia was one of the students who went on strike to oppose Chauhan’s appointment as the chairperson of the Pune-based institute. “Congratulations to her. I feel proud that I was the chairman at the time when she was doing the course there,” Chauhan said. Asked about Kapadia’s displeasure over his appointment, he said, “She has never said anything about me. What can I say then?” According to protesting students, Chauhan did not match the vision and stature of past chairmen of the FTII governing council, and his appointment appeared “politically coloured”. Chauhan said that neither was he sacked from the job nor did he resign. “I completed my tenure,” he said.