File photo of actor Rishi Kapoor
Actor Rishi Kapoor today shared the story of his own rejection from the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India to argue that Gajendra Chauhan should resign gracefully as its chairman, and accept that he is not wanted.
"You should leave aside your pride and ego and voluntarily resign. You have to command respect, not demand it," the 62-year-old actor said in Mumbai, hours after he drove home the message in a sharp tweet.
"Advice. After all the protests and controversy, Gajendra Chauhan,the FTII Chairman should voluntarily retire. Will do good to the students. If they don't want you, they don't want you. By pushing for the chairmanship is getting you no where.Let self pride play a role and retire!" Mr Kapoor had tweeted.
The criticism from actors like Rishi Kapoor and Anupam Kher has left Gajendra Chauhan, the controversial new chairman of the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India or FTII, totally unfazed. Who are Anupam Kher and Rishi Kapoor?" Mr Chouhan said when NDTV contacted him on phone.
Rishi Kapoor, speaking to reporters, recalled that when he was starting out in films, his father, renowned actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor, had wanted him to join the Pune-based institute. "I was rejected because I had failed class 11 in school," Rishi Kapoor said.
"Knowledge of cinema is important. I have been in films for 44 years and I'm certainly not capable of being FTII chief," he added.
The actor also took a swipe at the BJP. "There must be some government agenda in appointing him, I'm only looking at this from the students' perspective. If at all it had to be someone from BJP... it could have been Shatrughan Sinha, Hema Malini, Paresh Rawal or Vinod Khanna. They're more experienced and are from the BJP," he said.
FTII students have been boycotting classes, alleging Mr Chauhan lacks "stature and vision" to head the institution. They allege that his is a political appointment - Mr Chauhan is a member of the ruling BJP and had campaigned prominently for the party in last year's national elections.