KOTTAYAM: The formal inauguration of the K R Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts will be held on January 11 by Vice-President Hamid Ansari, announced Chief Minister Oommen Chandy here on Sunday.
Briefing the media on the film institute campus at Thekkumthala here, Chandy said the institute, which started functioning in 2005, could have been dedicated to the nation earlier itself, however, it is only now, the construction work was nearing completion. The institute will be inaugurated at 3.15 pm, he added.It was former Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi who laid foundation for the institute in 2006. Noted architect G Shankar-led Habitat Technology Group, which was appointed as the technical consultant for the construction of the institute, has completed the initial constructions works of the institute at a very low cost of `1,200 per sq/ft, the Chief Minister added.
“Now, works are on for a theatre with a capacity of 500 seats which would screen films for public also once in a week,” he said.
The works, which were lagging till 2011, got a push after the institute was registered as an autonomous society in 2013.
Institute director G Rajasekharan said currently the institute had two batches with 60 students each who were selected through two levels of filtering processes, including an all India-level entrance examination.
He said the institute had state-of-the-art facilities such as a sound mixing studio, a shooting floor, one of the largest in South India.
The aim of the institute, which is now registered under the Higher Education Department, is to become a deemed university, the director said.