Expert: Need for institutionalised support to sustain art

VARANASI: Tripurari Sharan, filmmaker and writer, former director-general, Doordarshan and Film and Television Institute of India, has said that there is a need for institutionalised form of support to sustain art forms.

Performing arts are necessary for the transfer of the ‘great’ tradition, and it can only sustain itself with support, patronisation and enrichment from institutions, he said.

Speaking on ‘Institutions and Arts: Examining the Interrelationship’, the topic of two lectures organised by Malaviya Moolya Anusheelan Kendra and Inter Cultural Studies Centre, BHU, on Thursday, Sharan drew a parallel from sports. He pointed out that there is a lack of institutional support granted to many forms of sports, except cricket.

Similarly, in the world of culture, institutional support, especially from public institutions, is necessary as there is no support from any other source.

Talking about the status of theatre in India, he pointed out that professionalisation of theatre is important for commercial support, which is not the case in India. He ended his lecture by stating that competition can only be sustained through institutions’ support.

Speaking on ‘Public Discourse and Popular Culture: The Status of Indian Cinema’, Sharan said that cinema, especially popular cinema, helps in the creation of imagination and culture.

Attention given to cinema in the public media and domain is marginal. There is a lack of serious discourse in Indian cinema, even though it is one of the highest producers of cinema.

There is a parallel between the world of cinema and that of sport, but paradoxically, the public discourse around cinema is disproportionate to that around sport.