FTII Entrance Exam 2027: Notification Expected January, Syllabus, Exam Pattern and Stage 2

The FTII Entrance Exam 2027, officially known as the Film and Television Institute of India Joint Entrance Test (FTII JET 2027), is a national-level entrance test conducted by FTII Pune and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata for admission to postgraduate diploma and certificate programmes in direction, cinematography, editing, screenplay writing, sound design, screen acting, and other film and television arts. The 2027 cycle has not yet started — based on the 2026 admission pattern, the official notification is expected in early 2027 and the Stage 1 written exam in April–May 2027.

• Notification: The FTII JET 2027 official notification is expected in January–February 2027. In 2026, the notification was released in February 2026 and the application form opened on March 11, 2026.
• Stage 1 Written Exam: The Stage 1 written test is expected in April–May 2027. In 2026, after the original April 26 exam was cancelled, FTII conducted a re-examination on July 12, 2026.
• Stage 2 Assessment: Shortlisted candidates will be called to FTII Pune for the Stage 2 Mixed Format Assessment (Orientation and Interview), expected August–September 2027. Stage 2 carries 75% of the final merit score.
• Final Result and Admissions: The FTII JET 2027 final merit list is expected in October–November 2027, with counselling and seat allotment in November–December 2027. Around 130+ seats are available across FTII Pune, SRFTI Kolkata, and FTII Itanagar.

What is the FTII Entrance Exam?

The FTII Entrance Exam, commonly called the FTII JET (Joint Entrance Test), is India’s most prestigious entrance examination for film and television arts education. It is conducted jointly by the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata. Admission is open to graduates from any discipline who want to pursue professional training in filmmaking, cinematography, editing, sound design, art direction, screen acting, or screenwriting.

FTII Pune was set up in 1960 by the Government of India on the premises of the former Prabhat Film Company. It is an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. SRFTI, established in 1995 and named after the legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray, became a Deemed University in 2023. Both institutes are internationally recognised and have produced many of India’s most celebrated filmmakers, cinematographers, and actors — including Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, Jaya Bachchan, and Smita Patil.

The FTII Entrance Exam is held once a year. In the 2026 cycle, more than 5,000 candidates applied for approximately 130 seats across FTII Pune and SRFTI Kolkata. That gives a competition ratio of roughly 40 applicants per seat for the most sought-after specialisations. Screen Acting and Direction attract the highest number of applicants each year.

• The exam has two stages: Stage 1 is a written test; Stage 2 is the campus-based Mixed Format Assessment (Orientation and Interview)
• Stage 1 carries 25% weightage and Stage 2 carries 75% weightage in the final merit list
• The medium of the exam is English only
• You can apply for a maximum of two courses in one admission cycle
• There is no upper age limit for any FTII or SRFTI programme
• A new campus — FTII Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh — also accepts the JET score for its film courses

FTII JET 2027: Key Highlights

The table below gives you a quick reference for the FTII Entrance Exam 2027. All dates are expected based on the 2026 admission cycle, as the official 2027 notification has not yet been released.

Source: Film and Television Institute of India — Official Website

FTII JET 2027: Important Dates

The official schedule for FTII JET 2027 has not been announced yet. The 2027 notification is expected in January–February 2027. All dates below are expected based on the 2026 admission cycle. Note that the 2026 cycle saw a one-time disruption — the original April 26 written exam was cancelled and re-held on July 12, 2026 — so the 2026 actual dates sit later than a normal cycle. For 2027, expect a cleaner timeline closer to the historical April–May exam window.

Keep checking ftii.ac.in for the 2027 notification as soon as it is published — registration typically opens around February and closes within 4–5 weeks.

All 2027 dates are expected and subject to change once the official FTII JET 2027 notification is released at ftii.ac.in.

FTII JET 2027: Eligibility Criteria

The FTII JET 2027 eligibility is different for some specialisations — read the criteria for your chosen course carefully before applying. There is no upper age limit for any FTII or SRFTI programme.

Educational Qualification — Course-wise

Final Year Candidates

If you are in the final year of your graduation, you can still apply for FTII JET 2027. However, you must submit proof that you have successfully completed your degree by the date of admission. If you cannot produce the graduation certificate at that time, your admission will be cancelled.

Other Eligibility Points

• There is no upper age limit for any programme at FTII Pune, SRFTI Kolkata, or FTII Itanagar
• Indian nationals can apply; a limited number of seats are available for foreign nationals (check the official prospectus)
• You can apply for a maximum of two courses in a single application cycle by paying the two-course fee
• PwD candidates are eligible for a 5% horizontal reservation across all programmes

Reservations

FTII JET 2027: Application Process and Fees

The FTII JET 2027 application form will be available on the official FTII admission portal when the notification is released. In 2026, the application opened on March 11 and closed on April 9. You should expect a similar window in early 2027. The entire application process is online — no offline forms are accepted.

How to Apply for FTII JET 2027 — Step by Step

• Step 1 — Register: Create a new account on the FTII admission portal using your email ID and mobile number
• Step 2 — Fill the Form: Enter your personal details, contact information, educational qualifications, and course preferences. You can select up to two courses and two preferred exam cities
• Step 3 — Upload Documents: Upload a recent passport-size photograph and your signature in the specified format and file size
• Step 4 — Pay the Fee: Pay the application fee online using debit card, credit card, UPI, or net banking. Cash or offline payments are not accepted
• Step 5 — Submit and Print: Submit the completed form and download the confirmation receipt. Save your application number — you will need it to download your admit card

The FTII JET application fee is strictly non-refundable, non-transferable, and non-adjustable under any circumstances — even if the exam is postponed or cancelled. Pay only after verifying your eligibility carefully.

FTII JET 2027 Application Fee

The fee amounts above are based on the 2026 cycle prospectus and are expected to remain the same for 2027. Confirm the exact fee in the official 2027 notification before paying.

FTII JET 2027: Courses and Seat Intake

The FTII Entrance Exam 2027 gives you access to 11 courses at FTII Pune, plus MFA programmes at SRFTI Kolkata and film courses at FTII Itanagar. Batch sizes are deliberately kept very small — this is what makes FTII’s training so hands-on and intensive. The Film Wing MFA in Cinema programmes have 11 seats each; Screen Acting and Screenwriting have 16 seats each; TV Wing courses have 11 seats each.

FTII Pune — Film Wing (MFA in Cinema)

FTII Pune — TV Wing (PG Certificate)

The TV Wing at FTII Pune offers one-year PG Certificate programmes. These are approved by AICTE and designed for candidates who want fast, industry-focused training in electronic media production.

SRFTI Kolkata — MFA Programmes

SRFTI Kolkata shares the JET as a common entrance test for its own MFA in Cinema and MFA in Electronic & Digital Media (EDM) programmes. Batch sizes at SRFTI are smaller than FTII — typically around 5 students per specialisation. SRFTI offers specialisations in Film Direction, Cinematography, Editing, Sound Recording, and Production Design under its Cinema stream, and parallel specialisations under its EDM stream.

Category-wise Seat Distribution (Film Wing, 11 seats per course)

The annual course fee at FTII Pune is approximately ₹59,211 per year (excluding hostel charges and refundable deposits), based on the 2025-26 prospectus. The fee for 2027 will be confirmed in the official notification.

FTII JET 2027: Admit Card

The FTII JET 2027 Stage 1 admit card is expected to be released a few days to a week before the written exam — likely in April 2027. In 2026, the admit card for the re-examination was released on June 25, 2026. You will be able to download it by logging into the official FTII admission portal using your application number and date of birth.

How to Download the FTII JET 2027 Admit Card

• Go to the official FTII admission portal at ftii.ac.in and look for the admit card link in the Admissions section
• Log in using your application number and date of birth
• Download the admit card PDF and print on A4 paper — keep at least two copies
• Check every detail: your name, roll number, exam center address, reporting time, and chosen course
• If you notice any error, contact the FTII Controller of Examinations immediately

Information on the Admit Card

• Candidate’s name, photograph, and roll number
• Exam date, time, and shift
• Exam center name and full address
• Reporting time and gate closure time
• Instructions for exam day conduct

What to Carry on Exam Day

• Printed FTII JET 2027 admit card
• Original photo ID — Aadhaar card, passport, voter ID, PAN card, or driving licence
• Two recent passport-size photographs
• PwD certificate in original (if applicable)

Entry to the exam hall is not allowed without a printed admit card and a valid original photo ID. Mobile phones, smartwatches, Bluetooth devices, and calculators are strictly prohibited inside the exam hall.

FTII Pune and SRFTI Kolkata: India’s Premier Film Institutes

The FTII Entrance Exam 2027 opens doors to two of the most respected film schools in Asia. Here is what you should know about each institute before deciding which course and campus to target.

Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune

FTII Pune is India’s oldest and most celebrated film school. Established in 1960 in Erandwane, Pune, on the campus of the legendary Prabhat Film Company, FTII has trained generations of Indian filmmakers, actors, and technicians. Its alumni include some of the most significant figures in Indian cinema history.

• Location: Erandwane, Pune, Maharashtra
• Founded: 1960
• Status: Autonomous institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India
• Programmes: 7 MFA in Cinema courses (Film Wing) + 4 PG Certificate courses (TV Wing)
• Facilities: Film studios, editing suites, sound recording theatres, dubbing theatres, Penumbra Film Archive, a library with over 30,000 film titles and reference books, and on-campus hostels
• Additional Campus: FTII Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) — a newer campus that also admits through the JET score
• Annual Fee: Approximately ₹59,211 per year (based on 2025-26 data, excluding hostel and deposits)

Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata

SRFTI was established in 1995 and named after legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray. It gained Deemed University status in 2023, making it one of only a few specialised film schools in the world with a full university designation. SRFTI has even smaller batch sizes than FTII — typically 5 seats per specialisation — making it among the most selective arts schools in the country.

• Location: E.M. Bypass, Kolkata, West Bengal
• Founded: 1995
• Status: Autonomous Deemed University (since 2023), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India
• Programmes: MFA in Cinema and MFA in Electronic & Digital Media (EDM)
• Specialisations: Film Direction, Cinematography, Editing, Sound Recording & Design, and Production Design (in Cinema stream); parallel specialisations in EDM stream
• Seats: Approximately 5 per specialisation per year

Both institutes follow a workshop-based, production-intensive teaching model. Students work on real film productions and have access to professional-grade equipment from the very first year. Graduating from either FTII or SRFTI is widely seen as one of the strongest credentials for a career in the Indian and international film industry.

How to Prepare for FTII JET 2027

Preparing for the FTII Entrance Exam 2027 is unlike preparing for most other national entrance tests. You cannot score well on the strength of rote learning alone. The exam — and especially Stage 2 — tests your genuine engagement with cinema, arts, and culture, and your ability to think and write creatively.

Build Deep Film Literacy

Watch films widely and analytically. The exam rewards candidates who have seen, thought about, and discussed a broad range of films — not just recent releases. Build your watchlist around:

• Indian Parallel Cinema: Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Guru Dutt, Bimal Roy, Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Mani Ratnam
• World Cinema Movements: Italian Neorealism, French New Wave, German Expressionism, New Hollywood, East Asian Cinema (Wong Kar-wai, Akira Kurosawa, Park Chan-wook), Iranian New Wave (Abbas Kiarostami)
• Classic World Directors: Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Stanley Kubrick, Andrei Tarkovsky, Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Pedro Almodóvar
• Contemporary Indian Film: Films across Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Bengali, and Marathi cinema — especially festival-circuit and National Award-winning films

While watching, pay attention to how the film uses camera position, lighting, editing rhythm, sound design, production design, and music. Active watching — not passive viewing — is what builds the film literacy the FTII exam tests.

Read Widely Across Arts, Literature, and Culture

• Indian literature across languages — Premchand, Rabindranath Tagore, Saadat Hasan Manto, Ismat Chughtai, R.K. Narayan, Vijay Tendulkar
• World literature — Dostoevsky, Kafka, Camus, Gabriel García Márquez, Toni Morrison, Virginia Woolf
• Books on cinema — Satyajit Ray’s writings on filmmaking, Andrei Tarkovsky’s Sculpting in Time, books on film theory and history
• Maintain a running list of important arts awards (National Film Awards, Filmfare, Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Oscars) and stay current with arts and culture news

Study Indian Art, Culture, and History Systematically

Paper 1 consistently tests knowledge of Indian classical music, dance, painting, architecture, and folk traditions. Build a comprehensive study guide on:

• Indian classical music: Hindustani and Carnatic traditions, major ragas and talas, legendary musicians and vocalists
• Indian painting schools: Mughal, Rajput, Pahari, Company, Bengal School, and contemporary Indian art
• Classical dance forms: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, Kathakali, Mohiniyattam
• Folk theatre traditions: Tamasha (Maharashtra), Jatra (Bengal), Yakshagana (Karnataka), Nautanki (North India), Theyyam (Kerala)
• Indian architecture: Major monuments from the Mauryan, Gupta, Mughal, Dravidian, and Colonial periods

Practise Descriptive Writing Every Day

Part II is 60 marks — the largest section. Write one short descriptive or analytical piece every day. Practise scene descriptions, film reviews, short story openings, and essays on cinema and culture. Time yourself — you need to manage 60 marks of descriptive writing in roughly 90-100 minutes within the 3-hour exam.

Solve Previous Year FTII JET Papers

Past papers reveal the exact style, level, and types of questions FTII asks. Download and solve them from ftii.ac.in/p/exam-paper. Attempt full papers under real conditions — 3 hours, no references. Analyse each attempt to find your weak areas.

Prepare Your Stage 2 Portfolio and Interview

Stage 2 carries 75% of your final merit. For the orientation assessment and interview, the FTII faculty want to see:

• Clear articulation of why you want to study your specific specialisation and what you want to make
• A genuine, developed film-watching and reading history — not names dropped for effect
• Any creative work you have done — short films, photography, writing, theatre, visual art
• Awareness of the current landscape of Indian and world cinema and media
• For Screen Acting candidates: practise cold reading, improvisation, and monologue preparation

Visit film festivals if you can — IFFI Goa, MAMI Mumbai, BISFF Bangalore. Attend screenings, participate in discussions, and engage with working filmmakers. This kind of real cultural participation shows in Stage 2.