Team Herald
PANJIM: Kala Rakhonn Mandd on Sunday strongly objected to the reported claim made by Manoj Joshi, the main actor of the drama Chanakya, that the light and sound systems at the Kala Academy auditorium were excellent and trouble-free.
In a statement, Cecille Rodrigues, General Secretary of Kala Rakhonn Mandd, said an inquiry by the organisation had revealed that the production house of Chanakya had hired both lighting and sound equipment from outside, as they did not trust the systems installed at Kala Academy.
“In spite of that, a video was made viral where Joshi claimed that what he heard about Kala Academy lights and sound was wrong and he had no trouble in performing the drama,” she said. “The Kala Rakhonn Mandd would like to remind the people how the technical blunders created at the iconic Kala Academy complex have been continuously exposed, with the main curtain not opening during a Konkani drama, another curtain getting stuck midway, the roof leaking and water pouring into the auditorium with little rain, hearing problems in the last rows, the air conditioning system breaking down before performances, and the newly installed lights flickering in between,” Rodrigues added.
Chanakya was performed at the Dinanath Mangeshkar Auditorium of Kala Academy on 25 April, after which the video was released. On the other hand, Sharad Ponkshe, another Marathi actor of the drama Purush, had heavily criticised the technical obstacles at the auditorium, due to which he had to stop the performance halfway and continue it after ten minutes using simple floodlights, a few days ago.
As a fallout of this episode, Goa’s Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude had tried to push the technical blunders under the carpet by claiming that it was a mere two-minute technical glitch and that his opponents had taken a ‘supari’ to defame his political image.
The Kala Rakhonn Mandd alleged that it appears the minister has given a ‘supari’ to some individuals to catch hold of the main actors of the dramas being performed at Kala Academy and compel them to make false and misleading statements in front of the camera, while taking Goa’s art-loving people for a ride.