Malayalam actor and former Rajya Sabha MP Suresh Gopi has been nominated as the president of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata. The BJP member has also been nominated as the chairman of the institute’s governing council. The actor-politician will hold the position for three years.

The news was announced by Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, and Youth Affairs & Sports Anurag Thakur on Thursday, September 21. He wrote, “Many congratulations to veteran film actor @TheSureshGopi ji on being nominated the President of the @srfti_official society & chairman of the governing council of @srfti_official for a period of 3 years.”

The Minister added that Suresh Gopi’s “vast experience and cinematic brilliance” will enrich the institute and wished him a “fruitful tenure”.

Suresh Gopi was the winner of the 1997 National Award for Best Actor in his role in Kaliyattam. He has starred in several popular Malayalam films, often playing the tough cop. 

He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in October 2016 and contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Thrissur constituency. He lost to Congress’s TN Prathapan. In 2021, he contested from Thirssur in the Kerala Assembly elections. CPI leader P Balachandran emerged victorious on that occasion.

Earlier this month, Tamil actor R Madhavan had been appointed the president of Pune’s the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Society and chairperson of the institute’s governing council. The appointment was made by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for a period of three years.