Dharmendra Jai Narain, has been appointed as the Director of the Film & Television Institute of India, Pune.  He succeeds Pankaj Rag, who was the Director of FTII till recently, a press note issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) Govt of India, said. Popularly known as D J Narain, the new FTII Director is an officer of the 1990 batch of the Indian Information Service and comes to FTII with a  experience in administration, management, media communication and performing arts.Â...

On the occasion of the seventh edition of Thespo, one of the most publicised youth festivals in India, Quasar Thakore Padamsee speaks to filmfestivals.com and eSTQ.Q. You're the son of famous theatre parents? What's your early memories about the theatre? Late night rehearsals, hanging around back-stage, being allowed to play the fool? Mother memorising her lines while readying you for school?A. My early memories of theatre are all about backstage. And peering through the wings. I remember being ...

One of the salient features of Tendulkar Festival, organized jointly by veteran Amol Palekar and Idea was that they themselves took it quite seriously and planned it immaculately. The Badal Sircar Festival initiated by Amol last year turned out to be memorable in many ways and there was a general feeling among the viewers that such festivals should be organized time and again. Amol deserves merit for having organized Tendulkar festival at the most appropriate time. Considering Tendulkar's speech...