SRFTI may get university status soon

The premier Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) might soon be upgraded to university status besides being recognised as an institute of national importance.

"We expect to achieve university status very soon," veteran actor Ranjit Mallick, who is also the president of SRFTI society, said at the institute's convocation on Friday.

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, who was also present on the occasion, said both the two institutes under her ministry, Pune-based Film and Television Institute (FTII) and SRFTI, are being upgraded to cater to the ever-increasing, highly skilled and specialised manpower requirement of the film and TV industry.

"Measures are being taken to declare these two institutes, as Institutions of National Importance through an Act of the Parliament," she said.

As part of the curriculum restructuring at SRFTI, a short-term course on cinema acting is going to be introduced in the next academic session for the first time.

Adding a separate TV wing to the institute, the government has decided to introduce a 'Centre for TV Excellence' at SRFTI at a total cost of Rs 65 crore through the 12th Five Year Plan, the minister said. This centre will have two TV floors to cater to the requirement of students.

SRFTI was established in 1995 as an autonomous society with funds from the I & B Ministry to produce film and television professionals.

At present, the institute offers specialisation in four subjects - direction & screenplay, cinematography, audiography and editing.

A new building is now being set up at the institute for studies in animation and production management department.

Expected to be completed by this December, the new departments, Soni said "shall provide a rich corpus of skilled manpower to the animation and VFX industry which is expected to grow to nearly Rs 8000 crores by 2015 from the current level of Rs 3000 crores according to industry estimates".