Adoor stresses people's role in nurturing arts

Acclaimed filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan stressed the need for public to nurture art, at a roundtable discussion organised by Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) here on Sunday.

Chairing the panel discussion on ‘Creative Sustainability: As Artistes See It’, Gopalakrishnan compared how art forms are preserved abroad and in India.

“Why must we only depend on government patronage? In our country, arts and culture are given last priority – they come after sports in every budget! So, it is important to educate people on their responsibility to provide sustenance to the performing arts be it ‘Koodiyattam’ or ‘Kathakali’,” he said.

Film director Girish Kasaravalli, Indian classical dancer  Alarmel Valli, theatre person Sanjna Kapoor, founder of India Foundation for the Arts Anmol Vellani, Odissi dancer Sharon Lowen, filmmakers Pawan Kumar and Vipin Vijay also took part in the discussion on ‘creative sustainability’ moderated by IIM-B professor A Damodaran.

On the impact of technology on arts, Gopalakrishnan observed that technology diminishes palpability.

Pawan Kumar, maker of critically acclaimed films ‘Lucia’ and ‘U-Turn’, spoke about how he dropped out of engineering college to stage plays in almost-empty theatres before making it big. “As an artiste, I want people to listen to me. Audience is vital for sustainability. We need to find the right balance between making money and getting work acclaimed critically,” he said.

Sanjna Kapoor, director of travelling theatre company Junoon, spoke of the need to create spaces for art to flourish in cities.

Kasaravalli’s film ‘A Door to Adoor: Images/ Reflections’ was screened at the workshop and a Kathakali performance was given by Margi, an organisation working to revive the art form.
DH News Service