The Film and Television Institute of India was established in 1960 at Pune and is today considered a centre of excellence not only in Asia but also in Europe. The famous alumni of the institute include people like Subhash Ghai, Mani Kaul and Naseeruddin Shah.

The Film and Television Institute of India is an autonomous body under the ministry of information and broadcasting of the Government of India. The institute has the most up-to-date film and television equipment, a full-fledged graphics department, a computer laboratory and a library with an excellent collection of films and videos from all over the world. It offers postgraduate diploma courses in direction, cinematography, editing, audiography, acting, art direction, animation and computer graphics, screenplay writing. It also offers special courses for television. The FTII has a range of short-term courses on film appreciation as well as the technical aspects of film making.

The cinematography course at the Film and Television Institute of India is one of the best ones in Asia. A cinematographer who learnt his craft at the Pune institute can be recognised by his frames. The most famous alumni of the cinematography course is Santosh Sivan who turned director with the critically-acclaimed The Terrorist and Malli. He also made the big-budget Ashoka, a movie which critics panned for its performances but praised highly for its lyrical cinematography.

The prospectus and application form can be obtained from FTII after March 13 by sending a demand draft of Rs 700 — drawn on any of the branches of the State Bank of India or any Indian Bank branch — in favour of the Accounts Officer, Film And Television Institute of India, payable at Pune and a self-addressed, 23 cm x 30 cm envelope with postage stamps worth Rs 100. The forms can also be collected in person from the tutorial section of the institute. The last date for receipt of completed application forms is in the third week of April.

Eligibility

You require a three-year bachelors degree or an equivalent qualification in any discipline recognised by the Association of Indian Universities. More importantly, you must be imaginative with excellent communication skills. Moreover, you should be observant, have an eye for detail and have the ability to empathise with people.

Entrance Exam

The entrance exam is conducted in May at 13 centres all over India. These include centres in the cities of Trivandrum, Chennai, Guwahati, Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai, Pune, Amritsar, and Patna. Shortlisted candidates are then called for a five-day orientation workshop and a personal interview.

Pattern of exam

The entrance test consists of questions on Indian art and culture, including film and TV, as well as those on general mental ability. The latter is an objective test while the questions on films need some description.

How to prepare

For your preparation on Indian culture, you could read Spectrum’s or Pearson’s guide on culture, and the Manorama year book. For the mental ability paper, you should brush up your maths and reasoning from books by R.S. Agarwal, Tata McGraw Hill and Edgar Thorpe.

Sample test paper

Films and culture

What do you understand by “New Wave” films ? Name three films and three directors of this type of film.

What are the main contributions of the following to the enrichment of Indian music?
a) Amir Khusrau,
b) Tansen,
c) Ravi Shankar,
d) Thyagaraja.

Who made the first feature film in India? What was its name?

What efforts have been made to
develop theatre in India? Name any two important persons associated with the development of this art.

Mental ability

In a certain code language ‘DIVISION’ is written as ‘DVISIOIN’. How is ‘STATES’ written in that code language?

(a) STTAES,
(b) SAETTS,
(c) SATETS,
(d) STAETS.

In a class test of 50 candidates one candidate is ranked 20. What is his rank from bottom?

a) 29 b) 28 c) 30 d)31