Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha inaugurated the Tripura Film and Television Institute during a colourful programme held at the Nazrul Kalakshetra complex on Monday evening and in his inaugural speech said that the hidden talents of the state’s youth will get a boost up.

Agartala: The journey of the first film institute of Tripura, under the aegis of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata starts its journey at Nazrul Kalakshetra in Agartala on Monday.

Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha inaugurated the Tripura Film and Television Institute during a colourful programme held at the Nazrul Kalakshetra complex on Monday evening and in his inaugural speech said that the hidden talents of the state’s youth will get a boost up.

Dr Said that he never thought that one day Tripura will get a film institute and now it has become a reality. Highlighting the long cultural tradition of Tripura in field of art and culture, Dr Saha said that without any proper infrastructure, the hidden talent cannot be flourishing and with the inauguration of much awaited Tripura Film and Television Institute (TFTI), the talents of the state will get a platform to show their talents.

Speaking in the inaugural programme, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma said it’s a historic day for Tripura and the state has a relation with the Bollywood due to SD Barman and R D Barman and with the inauguration, the talents of the state will get a platform to enrich their hidden talents. He also hoped that Tripura Film and Television Institute would flourish and become a renowned film and television institution of the country. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘s passion for culture, the deputy Chief minister said, each state has its own culture. And Film is a powerful medium of expression. The Deputy Chief Minister hoped that the institute will develop into a reputed institute in future. Because, Tripura already has the base for a cultural development. Tripura has a rich tradition of tribal and composite culture. Now as a result of the institute, Tripura will carve a niche for itself in the arena of films. He wished the students of TFTI good luck and thanked all those involved with this initiative.

Highlighting the journey to start the Tripura Film and Television Institute, the Information and Cultural Affairs (ICA) Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said that the cultural diversity and natural beauty of the state can be showcased through this institute and will play a vital role to improve the socio-economic status of the state’s youth. The institute will also play a significant role in socio-economic improvement of the youths of the state. It will be possible to bring out the talent of the youths of the state on a national platform. Said Chowdhury and hoped that the institute will move ahead beautifully.

It may be recalled here that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the state government and SRFTI was signed and the academic activities of the institute started in November.

Primarily, the institution will run four courses and the advertisement for admissions was published on September 20 and the last date of submitting the application form for admission in SRFTI was October 20 last. The four courses to be run primarily in the institute include courses on Film Appreciation, Production Management on Cinema and Television for four weeks and courses on Screen Acting for eight weeks, Anchoring and News Reading for media and news room automation and altogether, 47 students admitted in the institute.

All these courses will be provided at very minimum fees and the state government has allocated Rs 5.75 crore for the project, and the PWD department is undertaking the necessary work to give Nazrul Kalashetra a facelift. For all these short-term four courses, the state government will bear the 90% of course fees and students have to pay only 10% of their course fees.

During the inauguration programme, the Mayor of Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) Dipak Majumder, the director of SRFTI, Kolkata Himanghus Sekhar Kathuya, Secretary of ICA department Dr Pradip Kumar Chakraborty, and eminent film actor of Bangladesh Ferdous Ahmed and Director of the department Ratan Biswas were also present.