FTII conducts film appreciation course for future bureaucrats

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In a first-of-its-kind exposure, over 175 IAS officer trainees underwent a Film and Television Institute of India (FTII)-steered film appreciation course at Mussoorie which was organised with an aim to ensure "all-round" development of the future policy-makers.

Around 178 officer trainees of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of the 2016 batch and three from the Royal Bhutan Civil Service(RBCS) attended the course at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) between June 21 and 23, an FTII official said here today.

Legendary theatre and film actor Naseeruddin Shah and his actor wife Ratna Pathak Shah shared their insights about Indian films with the future policymakers.

"The basic aim of the academy to invite FTII to offer such a course was to have an all-round development of their officers who should have an awareness about art, culture and cinema and to expand the horizons of knowledge of all these future policymakers," said Sankalp Meshram, Course Director and an FTII alumnus.

Instead of teaching the officers about utilitarian cinema, they were given insights regarding the world cinema and overall aesthetics of cinema, said Meshram.

FTII Director Bhupendra Kainthola said such a course was important for the future policymakers as they might be assigned various roles at ministries including the Information & Broadcasting, where they will have to handle situations involving art, culture and cinema.

"The valedictory session saw eminent film and stage actor Naseeruddin Shah, an FTII alumnus, and his actor-wife Ratna Pathak Shah addressing the audience before presenting participation certificates to them," he said.

Kainthola said Shah spoke on the origin of theatre and the connection between Urdu theatre and Hindi cinema while underlining the uniqueness of Indian films.

"Ratna Pathak Shah said the problem of modern films is that it's not modern in content. She said she was unhappy that as a 21st Century woman she was watching many films that were not supporting the feminist cause," the FTII director said.

He said FTII, the premier film and television training institute in the country, was ready to conduct such courses at various training academies for officials who are holding key positions in various Central government departments.

"You never know these officers might go to Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) and other allied departments under I&B ministry where such orientation and knowledge about cinema can be a great help," he said.