Dear Mr Gajendra Chauhan,
Greetings. I write to you today not as a journalist but as a former student of films at one of the country's most reputed institutions, SCM Sophia, a student who often travelled to the Film Institute in Pune (FTII) and whose top memories include that of veteran filmmaker Kumar Shahani explaining the sociological relevance of films like Ritwik Ghatak's 'Meghe Dhaka Tara' and its representation of the milieu it belonged to.
But it is you, Mr Chauhan, who have occupied the imagination of most film-makers, artists and students ever since you were appointed as Chairman of the prestigious FTII which gave us craftsmen like Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani and Om Puri.
With due respect to your body of work Sir, for no work of art should be treated with disdain, I was horrified when you on a national prime time debate called your films 'Jungle Love' and 'Khuli Khidki' silver jubilee films with a social message. Something tells me, Sir, that you must have cringed while watching a rerun of the debate, which saw Anupam Kher asking you to stop defending the indefensible. I am sure, Sir, it must have shaken you to the core when your students refused to accept you as the Chairman?
Do you realize, Sir, that none of these students have a personal agenda against you, but a justified anger? How can an individual whose body of work refuses to inspire be asked to steer an institute to greater heights and push the boundaries of excellence in the field of art? And at the risk of hurting your sentiment as a member of the prestigious film industry of India, let me tell you, Sir, that your appointment is embarrassing for students of cinema, and that embarrassment stems from various aspects.
Let me give you an example, and I hope that as somebody who appreciates cinema, you will understand where this comes from. Every Tuesday, we students would wait with bated breath for our head of department to screen a film that ranged from Francois Truffat's 'The 400 Blows', one of the most famous films of the French New wave, to his counterpart Ghatak's 'Bari Theke Paliye'.
We would get goosebumps through the screening of Pather Panchali and Saeed Mirza's 'Naseem'. These were important films that gave us a glimpse of history of the times they chose to represent.
The best part of the screening would come when the likes of Shyam Benegal or Kumar Shahni took us through the analysis and the artisanship that went into the making of the film.
Can you imagine how disappointed the students of FTII would be when they try to understand the significance of your body of work which cites films like 'Jungle Ka beta', 'Vaasna', 'Khuli Khidki', 'Reshma', 'Jungle Love'? Films that you chose to believe are A-category because they ran houseful. I am sorry, Sir, but you and I both are well aware that semi-porn films across the globe run to full houses.
The FTII has alum who have placed India on a global map. From Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Jaya Bachchan, Kundan Shah, Mani Kaul to Smita Patil, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Renu Saluja, Resul Pookutty - the list runs long.
When the likes of Jahnu Barua, Santosh Sivan and Pallavi Joshi resign from the FTII society to register their protest you must realize sir that this is not a personal battle nor is the FTII a battlefield for politics.
Films form an integral part of Indian history; art and its mentoring needs to be in the hands of those who have toiled for years, gained exposure to international forms of it, and witnessed the revolution in Cinema to be able to pass on learnings to new generations. Sir, please let go of that ego and pride and ask if you consider yourself at par with the eminent artists and personalities who have served as Chairman of the Governing Council in the past.
Do you consider yourself at par with Shyam Benegal, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak, U.R. Anantmurthy, Girish Karnad, Mahesh Bhatt and Vinod Khanna who have been inspiring figures for FTII? Wouldn't your career as a committed film artiste have required you to make Mumbai your
karmabhoomi - this is the city which hosts film festivals like MAMI, the Mumbai Film Festival, where cutting-edge independent cinema from India and across the globe is screened. Some of these films have been censored in their respective countries for offending the political sensibilities. Why is it that over the years, none of us ever saw your participation and encouragement for any such film festivals?
We have not objected to you being a member of the BJP whose youth members have famously vandalized film screenings - from the set of Deepa Mehta's 'Water' in Varanasi to Parzaania which was not allowed to be screened in theatres.
This, though, Gajendra ji, is not a choice between a Leftist and Rightist ideology as it has made out to be by your friends in the political spectrum. Your friends conveniently forget that Adoor Gopalakrishnan, who has been labelled a leftist, is the proud father of Aswathi Dorje; she is the police officer who was once in the thick of anti-Naxal operations.
You, Sir, have acted in the Mahabharata, so you must remember Eklavya, the Hindu prince who honoured the iconic king you played, Yudhisthira, with his shoes, and cut off his thumb to honour his guru, Dronacharya. That's the respect, Sir, that culturally India has accorded to the Guru. So you will understand that nothing can be more humiliating for a teacher whose student disrespects him.
For the sake of the profession, sir...it's not too late.
Sincerely,
Rana Ayyub
(Rana Ayyub is an award-winning investigative journalist and political writer. She is working on a book on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which will be published later this year.)Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.