Rajkumar Hirani says was asked to head FTII academic council, declines

NEW DELHI: Filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani today said he was offered to head the academic council at Film and Television Institute of India ( FTII) but he declined the offer due to his prior film commitments.

He also said that he is not replacing Gajendra Chauhan, who is heading the governing council of FTII.

Hirani, known for his blockbusters like "Munnabhai" series, "3 Idiots" and "PK", said that he was willing to extend his help towards resolving the "deadlock" at the premiere film institute where protests are on over the appointment of actor Chauhan.

A statement released today on behalf of Hirani, who is an FTII alumni, said "He has been asked to head the academic council but will not be able to take it up as his film work keeps him occupied and he would not have the bandwidth to handle FTII work."

There were reports that in talks with students earlier, government had suggested a compromise formula as per which Chauhan would be the chairman of the Governing Council while Hirani would head the council responsible for decisions on academics.

In the statement, Hirani added that "he will continue helping from the outside to end this deadlock between the ministry and the students."