Thiruvananthapuram: Actor-politician Suresh Gopi will take over as president of the Satyajit Ray Film Institute in Kolkata, he announced on Facebook on Thursday.

Gopi said that since the position is unpaid, he can continue to exercise all his freedom as a politician. 

“I'm taking over charge with the assurance of the Minister that it is 100% not an Office of profit and not at all a Salaried job and that I will still continue to carry all the liberties of a politician that I am in every front.So I will take charge as the Chairman as per instructions on the date and time suggested by the Central Information & Broadcasting Ministry,” he wrote on Facebook.

He added that he would participate in the protest march to be held in Thrissur on Gandhi Jayanti against the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank fraud.

Gopi's announcement comes after rumours circulated that he was unhappy with the appointment since he was expecting to contest in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency in the 2024 general elections. He was nominated for the position earlier this month.

In his Facebook post, Gopi thanked prime minister Narendra Modi, union home minister Amit Shah, and union information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur. He also said that he would "add glitter to the name of the World renowned Shakespeare of Indian films in the creative aspect.”