Team Herald
PANJIM: Just a week after a Marathi drama by Sharad Ponkshe was disrupted due to lighting issues, another play, ‘Shrimant Damodarpant’, featuring Bharat Jadhav, faced interruption at Kala Academy on Sunday. This time, the air conditioning stopped functioning for some time.
Speaking to mediapersons, an audience member who attended the play said, “The air conditioning wasn't turned on when the drama began. Since we were paying to watch the play, there should be proper facilities.”
The member said, “Similar incident happened with “Purush”. Tell me, the minister himself is an artist. Why don’t these people take interest in rectifying things.”
Another audience member confirmed that the air conditioning was not initially switched on and that they had to make noise before it was turned on.
Devidas Amonkar, Convenor of Kala Rakhonn Mandd, strongly condemned the incident and called for Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to dismiss Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude for allegedly denying the truth.
Amonkar said, “We strongly condemn the recent incidents of light failure and A/C interruption for the commercial shows, considering people pay thousands of rupees on tickets. Kala Academy as an institution should apologise to the spectators and the performing groups since they pay Kala Academy for booking and that the case should be taken to the Consumer Forum.”
The mismanagement of Kala Academy came under scrutiny again as last Sunday a ticketed performance was disrupted mid-show. A lighting glitch halted the Marathi play “Purush” for about 15 minutes at the Dinanath Mangeshkar Auditorium, which forced lead actors Sharad Ponkshe and Spruha Joshi to apologise to the audience during the interruption.
Following that show, actor Sharad Ponkshe conveyed his disappointment to the media, noting that the audience couldn't experience the carefully designed lighting of “Purush” due to the technical issue.
He found it unfortunate that a prestigious venue like the Dinanath Mangeshkar Auditorium continues to operate without a dedicated manager.
Ponkshe appealed to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to intervene personally and enhance the condition and management of Kala Academy