Tags:
Journalism of Courage
With theatre artistes crying hoarse over the year-long delay in the appointment of a full-time director to the National School of Drama,Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch has said the post would be filled soon.
Katoch earlier this week said the appointment of the director has been delayed because the Department of Personnel and Training had made some queries about the shortlisted candidates.
Former director (Anuradha Kapur) was to retire in July 2011 but was given extension for a year because DoPT has instructed us to frame rules for the appointment of the new director, she said. The process is nearly over and soon NSD would have a director.
NSD is without a permanent director since July 2012.
A selection panel of Shyam Benegal,Girish Karnad,Satish Alekar,Govind Deshpande and Amal Allana had recommended Arundhati Nag,Waman Kendre and Abdul Latif Khantana,for the job. Nag won a National Film Award for her role in Paa,Kendre is a Mumbai-based theatre artiste and Khantana is a senior faculty member at the NSD.
However,a group of theatre personalities last week submitted a memorandum to Katoch,insisting that Nag be appointed director. This sparked controversy after one of the 29 signatories of the memorandum,Mahmood Farooqui,claimed he had never agreed to recommend a particular name.
I was informed much later that I had endorsed the candidature of Arundhati Nag for the post,which took me by surprise as I never gave any endorsement to any particular candidate nor was I informed about it when I agreed to add my name to the petition, Farooqui said. I feel my name has been used without the terms being clearly spelt. I feel exploited and would be happy to get an explanation.
The memorandum was presented to the minister by Maya Krishna Rao,professor of arts at Shiv Nadar University,and theatre scholar Keval Arora.
