Shocked, says Amol Palekar after a critical speech bluffed at a government event | news from India



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Amol Palekar, veteran actor-director, said Sunday that he had been injured by members of the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) during his speech, and that no member from the audience did not speak for him at an event in Mumbai. he expressed concern at the announced cancellation of work exhibits by two artists.

A widely shared video on social media showed that members of the gallery repeatedly interrupted Palekar when he criticized the Ministry of Culture for removing advisory committees from the gallery centers in Mumbai and Bengaluru. He said that the retrospectives – compilations of work over a period of time – of two experienced artists seemed to have been canceled and he sought to know the reason in his speech on Friday. the advisory groups were removed, adding that although the terms of reference of the committees have been completed, all decisions, including the holding of the two artists' exhibitions, will be made as proposed.

Gadanayak added that new committees were being formed, but that they would only make decisions for future exhibitions.

The NGMA, run and administered as the subordinate office of the Ministry of Culture, indicates on its website that is a "custodian of the country's cultural ethos and showcases art forms. mutating".

"I'm worried that no one in the audience has said," let Palekar express his opinion, "said the 74-year-old. He was invited by the NGMA for the opening of an exhibition, Inside The Empty Box, which was held Friday night in memory of the artist Prabhakar Barwe.

"I was sad that it took the organizers 24 years to remember an artist such as Prabhakar Barwe. and hold his retrospective. I have not been allowed to speak against this injustice or to blame the Ministry of Culture for removing the NGMA Advisory Committee. I was interrupted and told to limit my speech to the artist, "he added.

Palekar said that he had been told that according to the new director, four floors of NGMA would be used to display the works and the dome (fifth floor). will only present new exhibitions.

He stated that the NGMA's Artists Advisory Committee had approved the organization of retrospectives of three artists, whose Barwe work had been inaugurated.

"But I learned that, without any communication with the committee, the following two retrospectives were canceled by the new director of Mumbai NGMA, Anita Rupavataram. I wanted to raise these issues. We wanted to know how and when these decisions would have been taken, "he said.

Rupavataram did not respond to repeated phone calls to ask for his comment on the issue.

Gadanayak however stated "Some artists are apprehensive about the availability of less space for temporary exhibitions and retrospectives. The NGMA is deliberating on the suggestions received from artists and a final decision will be taken shortly in consultation with all stakeholders. "

On Friday, after asking Palekar to" stick to the theme of the event, he continued his speeches and mention of the writer Nayantara Sahgal, recently invited to speak at a literary convention, but the invitation was withdrawn because she was going to say "was slightly critical of the situation around us".

"Are we creating the same situation here? "he asked the organizers of the event after being interrupted.

Curator of the gallery, Jesal Thacker, interrupted Palekar during his speech, asking him to continue talking about the event. 39 – Barwe's Retrospective Event – Palekar said he was "worried" and "hurt" by the way he was frequently interrupted during the speech.

When Thacker asked Palekar to talk about the issue. 39 event, it could be heard by saying the video, "I'm going to talk about the same thing." Do you apply censorship to that? "

It was however interrupted again by another person, who was heard to say: "This is not necessary at the moment, sorry … The function is about Prabhakar Barwe, please stick to it"

The filmmaker, accompanied by his wife Sandhya Gokhale, said Saturday that the gallery will not had not given a subject about what he had to talk about t that the question of "propriety", cited by the organizers, did not arise. "If I had been informed earlier what I was going to talk about, then I would have had the choice not to accept the invitation," he added.

"It's shocking.The NGMA objects to the accuracy of my comments.While I was talking about NGMA at their own place and invited by the gallery itself, how can this be moved? ", he said. "In the last 24 hours, no one has spoken to talk about this incident. We receive personal messages from different people outlining the position we have adopted, but no one has made it public, "she said at Saturday's press conference.

Palekar tried to A parallel between the incident involving it and several previous allegations: attacks by right-wing organizations against artists, social thinkers and public figures who criticized the government led by the Bharatiya Janata party.

The Congress said the incident had shown that the central government was involved in the arts. "Someone is being seduced; someone is not allowed to speak. New India 'Narendra Modi spoke of these "Acche Din" in his speeches, "said ANI Kapil Sibal, head of Congress,

Party leader of the Nationalist Congress Supriya Sule said:" It's Is an undeclared emergency sign in the country. Our democracy considers freedom of expression as a fundamental right of citizens. Who fires on the shoulder weapons of the Ministry of Culture?

Shiv Sena, an ally of the BJP within the government of Maharashtra, has criticized the Center too much. "It was cruel to interrupt [Palekar]. The organizers had the freedom to express a disavowal of disagreement after his speech, "said Neelam Gorhe, spokesman for Shiv Sena.

With agency contributions

First published: February 10, 2019 23:02 IST

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