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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Being FTII – Perspectives on the Film and Television Institute of India is a commemorative volume marking 60 years of the institute. A 2021 Scroll article presents edited excerpts from essays by Sriram Raghavan, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shabana Azmi and Jahnu Barua—four personal accounts of how FTII shaped their learning in film direction, acting and cinema.
What is the FTII at 60 book?
Being FTII – Perspectives on the Film and Television Institute of India is a commemorative volume issued by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting for FTII’s 60th anniversary. Scroll identifies the Ministry’s Publications Division as the source of the volume and says the institute began operations in 1961. Its May 23, 2021 article shares edited excerpts, not the contributors’ complete essays or a full account of the book. Read the Scroll article.
What do the four alumni remember?
Sriram Raghavan: theory has to meet practice
Raghavan studied Screenplay Writing and Film Direction from 1985 to 1987. He recalls working as an assistant to director Mukul Anand when his FTII interview coincided with a shoot. Anand encouraged him to attend. At the institute, Raghavan encountered theoretical discussions about cinema, but also a practical counterweight: an older driver, Shedge Saab, told him, “Bahut knowledge hua, abhi kuch karo.”
That recollection captures the productive tension in his account: close thinking about films matters, but it must lead to the work of making them. Raghavan also recalls Saeed Mirza’s advice that “an institute will polish pebbles and dim diamonds.” Both lines are remembered within a personal essay; they are not presented as independently recorded statements.
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Adoor Gopalakrishnan: learning to see how films work
Gopalakrishnan studied Film Direction from 1961 to 1965. He describes the arrival of film-appreciation professor Satish Bahadur and direction professor and vice principal Ritwik Ghatak as a formative period. For him, film appreciation meant more than enjoying a story: it involved attention to expression, history, cultural trends, structure and technology, alongside comparisons with other arts.
He remembers close analysis of Pather Panchali, including its shots, transitions, music and sound. Ghatak’s screenings and discussions of his own approach also offered a way to connect ideas about cinema with a filmmaker’s practice.
Shabana Azmi: acting begins with the actor’s instrument
Azmi studied Acting from 1971 to 1973. She recalls auditioning for acting professor Roshan Taneja, forgetting her lines, improvising and being admitted. In her account, that moment illustrates an acting craft grounded in presence: the actor works through the face, body and gait, while observing and absorbing life.
Azmi remembers Taneja telling her that continuing the scene after forgetting her lines showed she was “at the moment,” which, he said, mattered. Her essay also emphasizes the actor’s instrument and the value of broad cultural curiosity as foundations for practice.
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Jahnu Barua: a shared platform across regions
Barua studied Film Direction from 1971 to 1974. He recalls hostel life and wide-ranging discussions among students. In his view, FTII brought talent from across India onto a shared platform and helped regional-language cinema develop new ideas and craft, while bridging a divide with mainstream Hindi cinema.
That is Barua’s assessment in a personal essay, not a quantified or independently demonstrated finding about the institute’s impact.
What connects the essays?
The excerpts approach film education from different directions: analytical viewing and the study of cinematic form; the practical disciplines of acting and directing; and the exchange of ideas among students. Together, they portray learning as a combination of watching carefully, building craft and making work—not as a single method or a comprehensive history of FTII.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the source does not establish
Scroll’s article identifies the volume and four contributors, but it does not establish the book’s complete contents, ISBN, edition or format, price, or current availability. Those details should be checked against a specific publisher or bookseller listing before relying on them.
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