Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh virtually inaugurated the three-month-long foundation course in screen acting to be conducted by the University of Ladakh (UoL) in collaboration with the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune at the UoL Campus. 

Fifty percent of the 24 seats for the foundation course in screen acting are reserved for Ladakhi students for the screen acting course to be held from September 26 to December 15, 2022. 

Vice-Chancellor, UoL, Prof SK Mehta; Secretary, Higher Education Department, Padma Angmo; Registrar, FTII Pune, Sayyid Rabeehashmi and Course Director, Megh Varn Pant were among those present in the event.

LG Mathur informed about initiatives taken by the UT Administration and both the Hill Councils to encourage the entertainment sector in Ladakh, which is one of the important economic sectors of the country. He shared that the idea to conduct the screen acting course was conceptualised during The Himalayan Film Festival held last year, which was also attended by the Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B). He thanked Secretary I&B and FTII for carrying the thought process forward and making the screen acting course happen.

He informed that efforts are being made to set up infrastructure and the criteria of FTII to conduct long and full-term acting courses at UoL Campus. Stating that he is impressed with the talent of the Ladakhi people, he said that various FTII programmes have been conducted in Ladakh to encourage the creative people of Ladakh to come forward to learn new things. He stated that the onus is on professional bodies such as FTII to hone the raw talent of Ladkahi youth and also systematise it to bring the best out of them.

LG Mathur stated that Ladakh offers a good opportunity to Ladakhi youth as the region is not only blessed with talented filmmakers and screenwriters but they can also learn from the people from the Film, TV and OTT industry who visit Ladakh for shooting. He expressed satisfaction to see 10-odd students from other parts of the country opting for the screen acting course in Ladakh. This intermixing of students, he said, would promote the feeling of a national environment and also enable them to learn from each other thereby enriching their experience.  

He advised the students to make the most of the opportunity, learn something of lasting value and establish a strong base for themselves through this three-month long course.

Course Director, Megh Varn Pant, gave a brief introduction to the three-month long course, whereas Registrar, FTII Pune, Sayyid Rabeehashmi spoke about the association between UoL and FTII, including online short course and the opening of the Centre for Open Learning in Ladakh. Commissioner/Secretary Padma Angmo informed about various initiatives to provide screen acting and other courses to Ladakhi youth in Ladakh in association with FTII.