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At the National Gallery of Modern Art Mumbai on Friday, Amol Palekar was interrupted several times when he criticized the Ministry of Culture for suppressing the advisory committees of the Mumbai centers and Bengaluru, compelling the veteran filmmaker to curtail his speech. .
Although he was not able to deliver his full speech, Palekar also criticized during a telephone interview a new policy of the gallery, limiting the use of his space for exhibitions other than those of his own collection.
He spoke at an event organized by the Bodhana Foundation for the Arts and Research, to inaugurate an exhibition of the works of the artist Prabhakar Barwe.
The Barwe exhibition, said Palekar, "will be the last exhibition decided by the Local Artists Advisory Committee and not by a bureaucrat or a government agent whose program is to maintain the moral order or to to promote the proliferation of certain arts, in accordance with the ideological tendency. . On November 13, 2018, the Artist Advisory Committees of the two regional centers in Mumbai and Bangalore were removed. "
He added that he was" formally inquiring about the details in order to verify the hearsay. "
Suhas Bahulkar, chairman of the previous Mumbai advisory committee, said at informal conversations with NGMA officials that the committee would not be reconstituted, nothing was officially communicated to him, however, he added
Anita Rupavataram, director of NGMA Mumbai, however, denied this allegation. " The mandate of the outgoing NGMA Mumbai Advisory Committee expired on 15.11.2018 and therefore, it no longer exists, "she said in an e-mail." The new Advisory Committee should be established in a close Therefore, it is incorrect to say that the Advisory Committee was abolished. "
" Application of Censorship "
Palekar was interrupted several times during his speech by other s present on the parade, including Curator Jesal Thacker and Bahulkar. . They asked him to limit his speech to Barwe, said Palekar . Scroll.in .
At one point, Palekar asked them if they applied censorship to his speech.
In his e-mail, Rupavataram stated, "Myself and others on stage impressed Mr. Palekar while he was delivering his speech. Was moving away from the theme of the evening. The occasion was the inauguration of the retrospective of Barwe. "
Bahulkar stated that he agreed with the content of Palekar's remarks, but that he interrupted it, considering that the inauguration of Barwe was not the right platform to expose his problems. .
In his speech, Palekar said earlier "that local artists were directly involved in choosing the theme and content of the exhibition, whose work will be exposed". "I have also learned that as of November 13, 2018, all these decisions would be made in Delhi by the Ministry of Culture," he added. "As a result, at present, no new committee has been convened after the expiry of the mandate of the former committee – Suhas Bahulkar is included."
Rupavataram however baderted that "the National Gallery of Modern Art is a subordinate office of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.So it operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture. The ministry therefore has an important role to play in deciding its administrative and political issues. "
I have just received this video from one of my favorite actors, Amol Palekar, in the midst of his work. to be interrupted while the loss of artistic independence of @mumbai_ngma was ruined simply because it seemed to criticize a decision of the Ministry of Culture / NGMA.
That's in what is it # intolerance nowadays Sad pic.twitter.com/u8L30qeiz7
– Annu Tandon (@AnnuTandonUnnao) On February 9, 2019
Palekar also stated : "In 2017, we were happy to hear about the project and opening of a new NGMA. branches in Kolkata and in the north-east. The news of the expansion of this Mumbai site was also encouraging. However, on November 13, 2018, another disastrous decision apparently was made.
Thacker again interrupted Palekar and asked him to limit his speech to Barwe's work. "Are you asking me not to talk?" Palekar asked him.
He then reminded the audience that writer Nayantara Sahgal had been invited to speak in front of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, a literary encounter in Yavatmal, but that it was not the same. The invitation had been withdrawn by the organizers, who had declared that they wanted to "avoid any unforeseen incidents. and given the controversy that has erupted against his name. " Palekar then asked, "Are we creating the same situation here? You ask me not to speak? I will not talk.
Thacker repeats that Palekar should "stick to Barwe". Thacker did not respond to a request for comment.
Palekar described what was happening to him as a censorship, to which Thacker and Bahulkar protested, claiming that they were merely making a "request". Palekar replied that the Marathi word "gondas" was often used to make demands such as "do not speak, do not speak, do not eat, do not eat".
" I can not stay silent"
After that, Palekar said he would dismiss some of his remarks and go straight to the end of his speech. "This control over the NGMA, which is the sacred place of artistic expression and diverse art viewing, is the most recent victim of this" war against the humanities ", as the recently declared someone, "he said. "I am really disturbed and much more disturbed now. Where are you going to stop? This sea of freedom retreats from day to day, gradually but constantly. Why are we silent about this? What is even more troubling is that those who are aware of such unilateral orders do not speak, protest, or question it. "
Back to Barwe, he said," What would Barwe have done in this atmosphere? I'm sure he would have shown us the visible hidden through the visible present. Sorry Jesal if I have violated the decorum expected of celebrations or inaugurations. But I believe I must speak, hence this sad note lingering. "
The filmmaker received long applause on his return to his seat
Palekar told of Scroll.in the" catastrophic decision. "Before going to the end of his speech, he mentioned a new policy that all exhibitions that are not part of the NGMA's own collection would be limited to the gallery's dome area. "Does this mean that the remaining area will never expose new exhibits? artist's works? ", he asked." Or new works by veteran artists, beyond the NGMA collection? "
Look at how veteran actor Amol Palekar is prevented from making critical comments during his speech on the occasion of the inauguration of the retrospective Prabhakar Barwe at NGMA Mumbai on February 8, 2019. pic.twitter.com/7lQAxcA1U1
– geeta seshu (@geetaseshu) 9 February 2019
In the share ie from his speech that he did not pronounce, Palekar would have discussed the consequences of the new policy: "The proposed retrospectives of Mehli Gobhai and Sudhir Patwardhan, scheduled respectively for March-April and December 2019, have have been canceled.
Palekar explained that he had learned all these developments through conversations with members of the artist community, and although he "found himself in a dilemma when he was in the middle of his life. he had to talk about this auspicious occasion … I can not remain silent ".
Rupavataram replied in his e-mail: "At a meeting held on November 13, 2018 in Delhi and chaired by the Director General of the NGMA, Shri Adwaita Gadanayak, according to the directive of the Ministry, it was decided that NGMA Mumbai would exhibit a permanent collection of works of art, sculptures and paintings of reputable artists in its possession.This will ensure that art lovers will have the chance to see the priceless collection available with NGMA However, short-term exposures (similar to those currently being held) will not be interrupted.It was decided to award the NGMA Mumbai dome exclusively to short-term exhibitions. "
Shireen Gandhy, Gallery Owner Chemould criticized the decision, and NGMA Mumbai is a vital space for monographic exhibitions, "she said, adding that" galleries support N GMA for a long time. "
She added that" a retrospective means that you superimpose it, layers of years. How do we encompbad everything on the same floor?
Bahulkar stated that he too had expressed his disagreement with this decision to the government.
Palekar stated that in a conversation after the event, Thacker told him that the director of the NGMA had asked him to "ensure that no anti-government statements were made". To this, Palekar said that he had replied, "You did not say that to me. If you had asked me, I would excuse myself. "
Thacker, however, stated that she had not had such a conversation with Palekar.
Update: In a statement published on Saturday evening, Jesal Thacker said: "My intention was not to prevent Amol from finishing his speech, but to ask him to share with him more information about his anecdotes and fond memories of him." # 39; artist … Views that are not directly related to the subject of the evening – the art and life of Barwe – can always be expressed on another platform appropriate to this specific concern . "
Read also: The invitation of Nayantara Sahgal was withdrawn for fear of losing the BJP minister as boss, declares the organizer
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