Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 6, 2015)
Mirror (October 29) had earlier reported that 12 filmmakers including Dibakar Banerjee, Anand Patwardhan and Paresh Kamdar had returned their National Awards on October 28 to protest against the "growing intolerance" in the country and to show their support for the FTII graduates who were protesting the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as Chairman of the institute's Governing Council and four other "political" appointments. On Thursday, 24 other filmmakers returned their National Awards. Among them were veteran filmmakers Kundan Shah, Saeed Mirza, cinematographer Satya Rai Nagpaul and writer Arundhati Roy.
"Whether this is going to have an impact or not, isn't something I've thought about. I am protesting because I believe that what is happening is wrong," says Nagpaul, pointing to issues surrounding the FTII and to the murder of scholar M M Kalburgi and the Dadri lynching.
He returned his award for cinematography for his debut feature, Anhe Ghore Da Daan and was quick to refute allegation that the 'award vapsi' campaign is politically motivated to mar the Centre's image during the ongoing Bihar elections. "I can assure you that is not the case. This is a spontaneous response of several filmmakers who are joining the cause out of their own conviction," he asserts.
Former Chairman of FTII, Saeed Mirza, admits he doesn't know Gajendra Chauhan but didn't think he was qualified to be heading the FTII. "Respect the institute as a center for excellence," asserts the filmmaker, adding that students have gone back to their classes to continue with their studies, but would not accept Chauhan. Returning the National Award for Best Directorial Debut for Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Kundan Shah pointed out that the protest is not against the BJP but its ideology. "We want to have a dialogue with the government and come up with a solution acceptable to both the government and the students," he says.
Anupam Kher, Madhur Bhandarkar and Ashoke Pandit have strongly opposed the rebels. Has this move divided the industry? "No, every professional has the democratic right to express his opinion. It's not a polarised industry," avers Nagpaul.
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Anirban Das (MID-DAY; November 6, 2015)
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.
“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.”
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.