Veteran actor Anupam Kher was on Wednesday named the new Chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune.
Kher will succeed the controversial Gajendra Chauhan, whose appointment had triggered student protests. His appointment had sparked a controversy and the students of FTII had gone on a strike for more than four months.
On critics describing him as a Modi 'chamcha' (sycophant) Kher said, "I am better off being called a chamcha of Narendra Modi, than a 'balti' of somebody else. They are using this word (chamcha) to put me on the defensive. I am a ‘chamcha’ of thespian Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan too," according to PTI.
"If you use the word 'chamcha' for admiration, it is perfectly alright with me, because after a long time we now have a Prime Minister who has brought emotions in me for my country, a man whose career graph is not a fluke, a man who did not enter politics as part of any legacy."
Husband of BJP MP from Chandigarh, Kirron Kher, the actor ruled out joining politics in the near future in recent interviews, saying he valued his freedom more than joining any political party
FTII is a prestigious film and TV institute in Pune that has given Indian cinema many gems, including Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Jaya Bachchan and more recently Rajkummar Rao. Filmmakers like Raju Hirani and Sanjay Leela Bhansali are also FTII alumni.
The list of its previous chairmans are impressive, and includes Adoor Gopalakrishna, Shyam Benegal and Girish Karnad to name a few.