After almost a week of speculations on whether he will accept the Union government’s nomination as the president of the Kolkata-based Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) society and chairman of its governing council for a three-year term, actor and politician Suresh Gopi has accepted the position. In a Facebook post on Thursday, he said he was taking over charge “with the assurance of the Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, that it is 100% not an office of profit and not at all a salaried job”.
Mr. Gopi also said that he had got an assurance that he would still continue to carry all the liberties of a politician. Ever since Mr.Thakur made the announcement in X (formerly Twitter) about Mr.Gopi’s appointment, the actor had remained tight-lipped, leading to angry reactions from his supporters against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)‘s State leadership, which was accused of saddling him with the post to prevent his candidature in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
