Manoj Mitra quits as Natya Akademi president

Kolkata: The president of the Paschim Banga

Natya Akademi

, Manoj Mitra, has resigned from the post citing health reasons. The resignation by the 80-year-old actor comes close on the heels of the controversy generated by the reshuffle of the body, which excluded members like Arun Mukhopadhyay, Usha Ganguli, Harimadhab Mukhopadhyay and Sima Mukherjee.

“Theatre is my passion but I am no longer active. However, the government didn’t want me to leave. When a new committee was created, I felt someone more active will be able to do more justice to the post,” he said. He refused to connect his resignation with the reshuffle. “I don’t know why people are connecting the two. Health is the only reason for my resignation,” he said. tnn