Alumni, theatre artists support students, HoD

PUNE: Alumni and Marathi theatre personalities have come out in support of the department's head and students of Lalit Kala Kendra of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), saying that outsiders were compromising the students' freedom of expression.

Late on Tuesday, they released a statement which said, "It is deeply hurtful that police complaints were registered against university students and HoD. It is also unfathomable that no cognisance of their pain and trauma was taken into consideration at the time, and no complaints from their side were entertained thereafter. The department, its students and HOD, who are in fact the real victims of this incident, are now being unfairly targeted, deliberately defamed and maligned with disinformation in circulated videos, publications and on social media, leading to severe misunderstandings about the institution and its students. It is disheartening to witness Dr Bhole's career being reduced to cheap slander and abuse by people who do not know him or his work."

Anita Date, Marathi actress and alumnus, said, "An exam was underway and some examiners were sitting there to judge the play and the artists. Any third person from outside cannot enter the premises and pronounce a decision on it." Another alumnus, screenwriter Mitali Joshi, who is also the producer of National Award film Godavari, said what happened at Lalit Kala Kendra was unfair, disturbing and unjust.

"Anybody wanting to say something about the play needs to read the entire script first and know the premise. Some clips are circulating on social media which are out of context, premeditated, planned and heinous," she added.

Education at Lalit Kala Kendra was never directed towards any ideology, she added. "It was always inclusive and as theatre students, our learning was about our traditions, culture, and mythology because that is where the drama lies," she said.