Tom Alter resigns as head of Pune FTII acting Department
On May 23, Alter had a heated exchange with the students at the Director’s office after which he had threatened to resign.
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FTII Director Bhupendra Kainthola confirmed the resignation, saying it’s yet to be accepted. Alter couldn’t be reached for a comment.
Veteran actor Tom Alter has resigned from the post of head of Acting Department at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) over alleged disagreement with the acting students. The institute administration, however, maintained that Alter resigned because of inability to devote time for academic activities.
FTII Director Bhupendra Kainthola confirmed the resignation, saying it’s yet to be accepted. Alter couldn’t be reached for a comment.
“Yes, it’s true that he (Alter) has resigned. I can only tell you what he has said in his resignation email. He said he had lot of other commitments and hence was not able to find time for the academic activities. I don’t want to go into the background and trading of allegations,” said Kainthola.
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Acting students have alleged that although all of them respected Alter for his “immense talent and contribution to the field”, he was failing as an administrator owing to which the students had to suffer.
“He has dictatorial ways and refused to listen to anyone. For example, on March 4 this year, he gathered all of us and handed out a paper to each saying he would only talk to us if all of us signed the letter. It had three conditions: One, every one of us has to have 100 per cent attendance. Two, we have to attend the classes with joy and excitement. Three, we won’t interfere with functioning of the department. We refused but later accepted two of the three conditions just to break the ice, but he refused until all of us agreed to all the conditions. For the last three months, he refused to engage with us despite many requests,” said Dewas Dixit, a second-year acting student. Students also complained it was difficult to reach Alter in a moment of need as he did not keep a mobile phone.
On May 23, Alter had a heated exchange with the students at the Director’s office after which he had threatened to resign. Alter joined the institute as HOD of the Acting Department in November 2014.
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