Protests at FTII campus as Gajendra Chauhan is set to take office

Seven months after his appointment as the chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), actor Gajendra Chauhan is set to finally take charge today.

However, the FTII campus in Pune is already seeing clashes between students and the police, with the former protesting the appointment yet again. This despite the fact the police had issued notices to a few students who were planning protests earlier on, warning them of cancellation of bail if they went ahead with their plans.

Chauhan is set to hold its first meeting at the institute campus on Thursday.The actor and the BJP member was appointed the chairman of the top film institute in June 2015, which was followed by a series of protests by students and the FTII alumni alike.

The FTII row intensified after some of students went on an indefinite strike as they questioned Chauhan's "professional credibility" to lead the institute due to a lack of his "stature" and "vision". They finally withdrew the strike in October, eventually stirring a nationwide debate on the alleged political appointments.