R Madhavan replaces Shekhar Kapur as FTII President

By: Priyal Joshi

R Madhavan has recently been chosen the new President of the Film & Television Institute of India, only days after Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, his directorial debut, won the National Award for Best Film. On Friday night, Anurag Thakur, the minister of information and broadcasting, announced Madhavan’s appointment as the new FTII president on X (previously Twitter).

He wrote, “Heartiest congratulations to @ActorMadhavan ji on being nominated as President of @FTIIOfficial and Chairman of the governing council. I’m sure that your vast experience & strong ethics will enrich this institute, bring positive changes, & take it to a higher level. My best wishes to you.” Madhavan reposted Anurag’s tweet and wrote in his response on X, “Thank you so very much for the honor and kind wishes @ianuragthakur Ji. I will do my very best to live up to all the expectations. (namaste emojis)” The Information & Broadcasting Ministry of the Central Government is responsible for the FTII, which is located in Pune, Maharashtra. The institute, which was founded in 1960, offers classes in acting, art direction, computer graphics, and animation in addition to film editing, direction, cinematography, audiography, and these subjects.

The previous president of FTII was Shekhar Kapur. Filmmakers Shyam Benegal, Mrinal Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Mahesh Bhatt, BP Singh, Saeed Akhtar Mirza, actors Girish Karnad, Vinod Khanna, Gajendra Chauhan, and Anupam Kher, as well as cartoonist RK Laxman, came first, then actors Anupam Kher and Girish Karnad, and screenwriter UR Ananthamurthy.

Tamil and Hindi movies include the actor Madhavan. With the 2000 romance drama Alaipayuthey by Mani Ratnam, he made his Tamil film debut. He made his Bollywood debut the following year with Rehna Hai Terre Dil Mein, a beloved romantic comedy directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, alongside Dia Mirza. In Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, which won him his first National Award for Best Film, he made his directorial debut as former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan.