BENGALURU: Despite being one of the oldest film institutes in the country, the Government Film and Television Institute (GFTI) is seeing a fall with only six of the 33 seats in cinematography — a course the institute was once known for — have been filled in 2024-25 academic year. In sound recording and engineering, 94% seats remain vacant with just one of 17 seats being taken.
In response, the Higher Education Department is now working on a complete overhaul of the institute. The department is planning to shift the campus from Hesaraghatta to a more accessible location, possibly Sree Kanteerava Studio, and introduce new courses that are better aligned with changes in the film industry.
The proposal follows after senior Kannada actor Srinath and a group of alumni met Higher Education Minister Dr MC Sudhakar on Thursday and urged the State Government to take steps to revive the institute.
Data from the last five years shows a consistent pattern of vacant seats, with at least 10 seats going unfilled - often more, each year in cinematography. The vacant seats were alarmingly high in some years - 26 in 2020-2021; 15 in 2021-22; and highest in 2024-25 with 27 vacancies.
A similar trend was seen in the sound recording and engineering course, which mostly reported 11 to 16 vacancies.
During the meeting, actor Srinath and others pointed out that while the students are interested, the current infrastructure is inadequate, and its location is a major barrier.
Officials from the Department of Collegiate and Technical Education also believe that apart from the location, courses offered by the institute are outdated.
“With only cinematography and sound recording and engineering, the institute has not kept up with the current landscape of film industry, which demand skills in editing, VFX, animation, digital filmmaking and OTT content creation,” an official told The New Indian Express, adding that currently, industry is heavily in post-production formats and students are also looking for institutes that offer specialisations.
“In Bengaluru itself, several long-standing single-screen theatres have shut down in recent years due to declining footfall and the growing dominance of OTT platforms because viewing habits are changing and the industry is turning towards digital content, hence the demand for traditional filmmaking has also evolved,” the official added.
The minister assured them that he would soon visit the Hesaraghatta campus, inspect the facilities, and hold discussions to initiate necessary steps. He said the relocation proposal will be discussed with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and that reopening the institute at Sree Kanteerava Studio is one of the options being considered.