Students need someone they can trust: Rajkummar Rao on FTII row

Criticising Gajendra Chauhan's appointment as the chairman of FTII, Rao said the premier institute needs to be in "safe hands"

National Award-winning actor Rajkummar Rao has criticised Gajendra Chauhan's appointment as the chairman of FTII, saying the premier institute needs to be in "safe hands."

Chauhan, best known for playing Yudhisthira on TV epic "Mahabharata", took over as the chairman of the Pune-based institute's governing council last month.

Rajkummar, 30, a graduate from the Film and Television Institute of India, said students need a head, who they can look up to.

"#FTII needs to be in safe hands. Students need somebody who they can trust and look up to. It's their future which is at stake here," the City Lights actor posted on Twitter.

Chauhan's appointment was condemned by current and former students of the institute.

They have been boycotting classes, abandoning academic work in protest against the appointment of Chauhan, who they allege lacks "stature and vision" to head the institution.

Several Bollywood personalities including Ranbir Kapoor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rishi Kapoor and Anupam Kher, have come out in support of the agitating FTII students.