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Grant halts for theatre groups in Bengal; thespians to meet today

Grant halts for theatre groups in Bengal; thespians to meet today
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KOLKATA: After a crisis in the Bengali film industry, the theatre world of Bengal now seems to be in turmoil as well. Recently, the central government halted repertory grants, meant to promote the guru-shishya parampara, for nearly 30 theatre groups in the state.

Various reasons have been cited for this decision. Among the affected are groups led by Meghnad Bhattacharya, Debesh Chattopadhyay and Poulami Chattopadhyay.

Some have been told they have become self-sufficient, while others have been informed that their organisations receive corporate funding. Many groups that have received financial assistance have also been issued warnings which thespians believe are unwarranted. In fact, most of the theatre personalities of Bengal suspect a political motive behind this decision. On Monday, they decided to meet, address the issue and urge the Ministry of Culture to end what they perceive as discrimination against Bengali theatre groups.

Theatre veteran Debesh Chattopadhyay, who leads the group ‘Sangsriti,’ said they had received grants for 12 years, but this time, the funding for 17 team members was cut. “I’ve been told that because I’m influential and have corporate funding for my plays. I was also told that I direct films whereas my last film, ‘Natoker Moto’ released in 2015. Also, I haven’t had corporate funding for five years,” said Chattopadhyay, known for productions like ‘Winkle Twinkle’, ‘Devi Sarpomasta’, and ‘Saudagorer Nouka’. He further informed Millennium Post that the Bengali theatre personalities plan to write to the Ministry of Culture against this discrimination. “We suspected this might happen in December, but it’s completely unacceptable,” he added. Playwright Meghnad Bhattacharya’s group had been receiving central government grants for 18 years, but this time, the funding has been stopped. The same has happened to the theatre group ‘Mukhomukhi,’ led by Poulami Chattopadhyay, daughter of the late Soumitra Chattopadhyay. Poulami was informed that their group is ‘self-sufficient’ now.

In February 2024, state education minister and theatre personality Bratya Basu took to social media and raised concerns that the central government might withhold funds from theatre organisations that do not follow the National School of Drama’s (NSD) guidelines. These guidelines required staging a play titled ‘Lo Aai Wapas Sone Ki Chidiya,’ which covers themes like ‘Vasudeva Kutumbakam,’ ‘Panch Pran,’ and ‘Vikashit Bharat.’ Chattopadhyay refused to stage the play, saying it went against his passion for theatre.

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