Bollywood veteran Paresh Rawal was named the new president of the National School of Drama by President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday. Rawal replaces veteran theater artist Amal Allana as president of the esteemed institution.
Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel took to Twitter to make the announcement.
The National School of Drama also tweeted welcoming Rawal’s appointment.
Founded in 1959, the National School of Drama has produced many of the best-known faces of Indian cinema so far; some of them are Ashutosh Rana, Adil Hussain, Anupam Kher, Pankaj Tripathi and Om Puri. The drama school operates under the auspices of Sangeet Natak Akademi, the leading cultural body in India.
Rawal’s appointment is interesting as the BJP-led Center has appointed people considered close to the ruling dispensation in the past. In 2015, he appointed Gajendra Chauhan as Director of FTII, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. He later appointed veteran actor Anupam Kher as director, but resigned after a year.
However, Rawal’s appointment is also significant as he is a former BJP Lok Sabha MP from Ahmedabad East and a well-known Narendra Modi supporter.
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