Film and Television Institute of India, Pune
The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, is a temple for those looking to be trained by the best in various aspects of film-making. With the likes of Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, John Abraham, Subhash Ghai, Mahesh Bhatt, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and many more forming the alumni, the place needs no further introduction.
The Institute was established in 1960. It is an autonomous Institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, and is situated in the premises of the erstwhile Prabhat Film Company. Today the FTII is considered as a Center of Excellence not only in India but also in Asia and Europe. Films made by the students of this institute are entered in festivals both in India and abroad. Many of them have won National and International awards.
The Institute offers three-year diploma courses in direction, editing, cinematography and audiography; two-year courses in acting, art direction; a one and a half-year course in computer graphics and animation and a one-year course in feature film scriptwriting. One-year courses in direction, electronic cinematography, video editing and audiography are also part of the courses.
The Institute has indeed come a long way from its humble beginnings. The Government of India purchased the land where the well-known Prabhat film company made films such as Kunku, Manoos, Shejari etc. when it was offered for sale and established the Film Institute in the year 1960. Today, the studios from the Prabhat era still continue to be in use by the students for their various exercises. These studios have been declared heritage sites by the Pune Municipal Corporation.
The Television Wing, earlier located at the Mandi House, New Delhi, shifted to the Institute campus at Pune during the early seventies so as to bring together training in film and television under a common roof, thereby justifying the name of the Institute – the Film and Television Institute of India. This wing of the institute has been primarily concerned with conducting in-service training to personnel from Doordarshan.
The faculty includes Satish Kumar, R.N. Pathak, Bipinchandra Naria, Ashwin B. Sonone, Suresh Chabria, Vinod Kalra and many more in both film and television streams. Medium of instruction for all academic programmes at FTII is English. The institute also offers various scholarships to deserving candidates.
So if you want to begin your career on an interesting note with the best in the field, the FTII, Pune, is the best bet!