Shocked, says Palekar after critical speech snubbed at govt event

PUNE/NEWDELHI: Veteran actordirector Amol Palekar said on Sunday he was hurt at being interrupted by members of the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) during his speech and that no member of the audience spoke up for him at a Mumbai event, where he expressed concern over the reported cancellation of exhibitions of the work of two artists.A video that was widely shared on social media showed members of the gallery repeatedly interrupting Palekar when he criticised the ministry of culture for reportedly scrapping the advisory committees at the gallery’s Mumbai and Bengaluru centres. He said retrospectives — compilations of work over a period of time — of two senior artists appeared to have been cancelled and he sought to know the reason during his speech on Friday.Adwaita Gadanayak, director general of NGMA, denied Palekar’s allegation that the advisory panels were scrapped, adding that while the terms of the committees had ended, all decisions, including that to hold the exhibitions of the two artists, will take place as proposed. Gadanayak added that new committees are being constituted, but they will take decisions relating only to future exhibitions. NGMA, which is run and administered as a subordinate office to the government’s department of culture, says on its website that it is a “repository of the cultural ethos of the country and showcases the changing art forms”. “I feel restless that no one in the audience said ‘let Palekar speak his mind’,” said the 74-year-old. He was invited by NGMA for the opening of an exhibition, Inside The Empty Box, held in memory of artist Prabhakar Barwe on Friday evening.

“I was sad that it took the organisers 24 years to remember an artist such as Prabhakar Barwe and hold his retrospective. I was not allowed to speak against this injustice and was also not allowed to criticise the ministry of culture for scrapping the NGMA advisory committee,” he added. Palekar said he was told that as per the new director, four floors of NGMA would be used for displaying the works and the dome (fifth floor) will showcase only fresh exhibitions. He said the artists’ advisory committee at NGMA had approved holding of retrospectives of three artists, of whom Barwe’s work was inaugurated. “But I came to know that without any communication to the committee, the next two retrospectives have been cancelled by Mumbai NGMA’s new director Anita Rupavataram. I wanted to raise these issues. How and when these decisions were taken, we wanted to know,” he said. Rupavataram did not respond to repeated phone calls for a comment on the issue. Gadanayak, however, said: “Some artists have expressed their apprehensions about availability of less space for temporary exhibitions and retrospectives. The NGMA is deliberating on suggestions received from artists and a final decision will be taken shortly in consultation with all the stakeholders.” On Friday, after Palekar was told to “stick to” the theme of the event, he continued with his speech and mentioned writer Nayantara Sahgal, who was invited to speak at a literary convention recently but the invitation was withdrawn because what she was going to say “was slightly critical of the situation around us.”