Oscar-winning sound arranger Resul Pookutty now slams Gajendra Chauhan's appointment as FTII chief

CHENNAI: Oscar-winning sound arranger Resul Pookutty today joined the growing list of people opposing the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as chairman of Film and Television Institute of India ( FTII).

Chauhan, best known for playing Yudhisthira on TV epic " Mahabharata", took over as the chairman of the Pune-based institute last month. His appointment was heavily criticised by the current and former students of FTII.

FTII students have been boycotting classes, abandoning academic work in protest against the appointment of Chauhan, who they allege lacks "stature and vision" to head the premiere institution which is expected to give new direction to Indian cinema.

Pookutty, 44, who graduated from the institute in 1995, said "a person who becomes a chairman of an institute or a governing council should be able to inspire the students".

"They should look at him/her as aspiration to what they want to become in their life. I don't think the present council and its members and its chairman, who is appointed by the government of India, is anything to be aspired for... I think that it is cheating. A government cannot cheat its people," he told.

The "Slumdog Millionaire" sound arranger feels "this whole appointment is politically motivated" as no academics, credentials have been taken into consideration.

Pookutty said he and others protesting against Chauhan's appointment should approach the government and make them understand the position of the students.

"I don't know if students of FTII or ex-students who are supporting the agitation can demand anything. The government has its own way of functioning. We can only advise the government that there are certain things that have gone wrong in the way they have conducted the whole exercise. We can only put the facts across to them," he added.