PANAJI:
Goa Minister for Art and Culture Govind Gaude today said that the lighting glitch faced during the performance of the Marathi drama ‘Purush’ in Kala Academy, last week was due to technical error and not human error.
The recently renovated Kala Academy came under strong criticism after a ticketed ‘Marathi’ play performance was disrupted mid-show on Sunday evening.
Calling it very unfortunate, Gaude said that the incident was due to technical faults and that no human error was involved.
A lighting malfunction interrupted the Marathi play Purush for approximately 15 minutes at the Dinanath Mangeshkar Auditorium, prompting lead actors Sharad Ponkshe and Spruha Joshi to apologise to the audience during the unexpected pause.
The theatre group, which had travelled from Maharashtra, expressed visible frustration over the technical failure.
Gaude said that the fixing of the light was not possible during the show as the play was ongoing and the stage had a full setup.
The Minister said that the Kala Academy had communicated the shortfalls in the existing lighting system to the public works department requesting them to rectify and upgrade the lighting system as per the requirements.
Veteran Marathi actor Sharad Ponkshe later criticised the substandard quality of the sound and lighting systems, along with the general management of the venue.
Ponkshe had appealed to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to personally intervene and take steps to improve the institution’s infrastructure and administration.
