Will try to win over students through my work, positivity: Chauhan

FTII chairman Gajendra Chauhan has welcomed the decision of the institute's students to call off their 139-day-old strike.

New Delhi: FTII chairman Gajendra Chauhan Wednesday welcomed the decision of the institute's students to call off their 139-day-old strike and said he will now focus on winning over them through his "work and positivity".

Though the students ended their strike, they have made it clear that their protest against the appointment of Chauhan as its chairman and four other FTII society members will continue.

They also ruled out any "proactive engagement" with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry until the issue gets resolved.

But Chauhan is unfazed and said he will make all possible effort to end their protest.

"My appeal from day one has been that strike is never a solution. It is now over. I will try to end this protest through my work and positivity. We will work together.

"Life is full of challenges. I accept them... This is a challenge and I will do my best to shoulder this responsibility. My attempt will be to have good relations with the students," Chauhan, best known for his role of Yudhishthir in teleserial "Mahabharata", told PTI.

Chauhan said he will soon form a governing council at the Pune-based institute.

"I am very happy for the students. I am happy that they have taken this decision. I am confident that in the future, we will form a governing council in FTII and start working there.

"I want to take everyone along, students and the governing body. It is not possible for one person to work, it is always a team work. Our governing council will work with everyone," he said.