Independence Day 2026 | Jagat Murari and FTII: Where India’s filmmaking rebels were made
This article explores the foundational philosophy of Jagat Murari, the first principal of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), who prioritized fostering dissent, debate, and individual voice over mere technical training. It highlights how this pedagogical model produced a generation of iconic Indian filmmakers and argues that these principles remain relevant for addressing the current quality crisis in India's broader education system.
Why it matters
The piece provides a historical blueprint for institutional success in creative education, offering a counter-narrative to modern educational models that prioritize standardized metrics over critical thinking and artistic autonomy.
For my father, Jagat Murari, the most important aspect in the “making of a filmmaker” had little to do with the art or technique of filmmaking. It was, instead, about helping each of his young students find their unique voice, and giving them the spunk and spine to use it. As he built the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII; then called the Film Institute of India) — pretty much from the ground up in the 1960s — he put in place a programme that would create brilliant filmmakers who were masters of their craft, but he simultaneously nurtured an environment that would make them free-thinking artists, who would be, as he put it, “even rebels of our time”. His key tools? Debate, dissent, diversity.
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