Team Herald
PANJIM: A day after Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude accused film, theatre actor and writer Sharad Ponkshe of maligning his name because he had taken a “supari” to do so, the veteran actor shot back, saying those who live in a world where “supari and money” is taken speak in such a manner.
Reacting to Gaude’s offensive, Ponkshe said, “What connection do I have with taking supari? Those who live in the world where supari and money are taken think like this. My drama was disrupted. That is why I said sorry to the audience who had come to watch the drama. In the auditorium, people were saying ‘Gaude, Gaude’. I asked, ‘Who is Gaude?’ and then I got to know that they were talking about the Art and Culture Minister. Before that, I did not have any information about him.”
“Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is my friend. The Kala Academy has been renovated at the cost of crores of rupees, but in the makeup room, there was leakage in the air-conditioner. So where was the money spent? Instead of saying sorry, the minister is branding me as a Suparibaaz. In fact, taking supari is their religion. It is their system. I am an artist, not a goonda to take supari. The drama was disrupted for around 10–12 minutes. Gaude should have apologised to those who love art, taking responsibility for what had happened,” Ponkshe said.
The veteran actor continued, “It would have been better had he (Gaude) said that he accepts the mistake and assured that such incidents would not happen in the future. But instead, he termed me a Suparibaaz. The Kala Academy should be handed over to someone who knows what art is. A person who understands art should be appointed as a manager with a proper salary. Most importantly, sound and light engineers should be present during shows so that they can take quick action if there are disruptions. Gaude is great, and so is the Minister for Art and Culture.”
Ponkshe was responding to Govind Gaude’s allegations that the actor took his name just to malign him. “He (Ponkshe) took my name in the media just to malign me. These people have taken supari to spoil my image,” Gaude had alleged.
Gaude also refuted Ponkshe’s claim that the production team did not use the Kala Academy’s sound system. “If there’s a technical fault, it can be fixed. Why drag me into it?” he snapped.
The war of words began after Ponkshe’s Marathi play Purush was disrupted last Sunday. Visibly disturbed, Ponkshe apologised from the stage and later openly criticised the State government.