Pune: Dhiraj Singh Appointed As FTII Director
FTII Pune and SRFTI Kolkata Granted Deemed University Status, Empowered To Offer Degrees And PhDs
10 August 2024
The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is finally getting a full-time director after more than two and a half years. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has appointed Dhiraj Singh, an officer of the Indian Information Service (IIS), for the position. In a departure from tradition, Singh will serve a five-year term instead of the usual three years.
Singh, an IIS officer from the 1995 batch, has been working as an additional director general at the Press Information Bureau. He has also been associated with the Prime Minister’s Office, President’s Secretariat, and Cabinet Secretariat, among others.
“He is expected to assume his role on Monday,” mentioned Prateek Jain, the registrar at FTII.
Dhiraj Singh, who graduated from Allahabad University, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and UC Berkeley, possesses an MPhil degree in international relations. Earlier this year, he published a book titled ‘Modern Masters of Cinema – an anthology on cinema masters’, which delves into the distinctive allure of cinema’s leading actors and directors, aiming to uncover what makes iconic figures like Al Pacino, Amitabh Bachchan, and Quentin Tarantino so captivating.
His predecessor, Bhupendra Kainthola, had a lengthy six-year tenure that brought about many changes in the functioning of the institute. Kainthola was transferred in December 2021, leaving the position of FTII director vacant since then.
Sandeep Shahare, the dean of the TV wing, has been serving as the in-charge director for the past two years and eight months. Despite multiple advertisements for the vacancy during and after Kainthola’s tenure, the position remained unfilled, leading to several extensions of Kainthola’s original three-year term.
Kainthola’s tenure was marked by controversy, as he is reported to have managed the institute, recognized as a liberal space, with an iron fist. He imposed strict punitive measures against students engaged in activism, including actions against Payal Kapadia, who later garnered significant recognition for her work, notably winning the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival for her film ‘All We Imagine As Light’.
