Trust Anupam Kher to pull off an eyeball-grabbing stunt. The newly-appointed Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Chairperson paid a surprise visit to the campus yesterday. In a live video, he revealed that he was on his way to the iconic institution where he had studied in 1978. He termed it an experience that was very important for his foundation as an actor.

“Today, I have not informed anybody at this institute that I am coming, because I wanted to go back again as a student.” He claims that he did not want to go to FTII feeling important, feeling over-awed that he has “done 508 films and I have been in movies for 33 years, I have done more than 120 plays”. He wanted to go there as a humble student, he claimed.

Kher has replaced the controversial Gajendra Chauhan, whose appointment in 2014 had triggered widespread student protests. He is keen to start his new term on a positive note he says, and assured the students that he would work with them to find solutions to their issues. “We will work on all this… I have come here to be on your side. That’s the most important thing,” he stated.

Meanwhile, fellow actor and alumnus of FTII, Shatrughan Sinha is not convinced. In a recent interview he opined that while Kher is eminently qualified for the job, knows cinema, and is a capable actor, he shared reservations about Kher being able to devote enough time to the workings of the FTII. The politics on the FTII campus is complex and sensitive, he points out.

A revamp and a reform are very much in order at the FTII, Sinha avers, as he offers Anupam his complete and unconditional support to bring back to the FTII the glory that was once part of its heritage.

Nice beginning, Mr Kher, time now to let the work speak.