Over the past week, several artistes have been staging protests by performing in front of the now-closed K.H. Kala Soudha in Hanumanthnagar. Apart from demanding reopening of the theatre space, they also want public spaces for art and culture to be affordable to all.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which owns quite a few public spaces, has hiked the rentals for Sir Puttanna Chetty Town Hall, Gubbi Veeranna Rangamandira and K.H. Kala Soudha. With rentals in the range from ₹10,000 to nearly ₹1 lakh a day, these venues have gone out of the reach of many artistes and theatre groups, especially young talent.
High rentals could well translate into high ticket prices, which poses the danger of pushing theatre and art out of the realm of mass consumption and reducing them to entertainment for the elite.
“The most affected are amateur theatre groups,” argues Arundhati Nag, actor and co-founder of Ranga Shankara, a privately managed theatre space. “This is a huge unorganised sector. The government must step in to protect artistes.”
T. Surendra Rao, vice president of the Samudaya Karnataka Rajya Samiti, underscored the need for more public spaces that would provide opportunities to amateur theatre troupes. “Theatre is a cultural performance that is secular in nature. In today’s context, it is imperative that spaces available for theatre are affordable, as it will help preserve and propagate its cultural diversity and secular nature,” he said.
Ms. Nag pointed out to inconsistencies in the government’s policy. “Some regulation is needed and public spaces need to be managed by someone who understands what the artistes’ community needs,” she said.
Cultural organiser Srinivas G. Kappanna pointed out that earlier, the civic body looked at exposing citizens to art and culture as an obligatory duty. “It isn’t so now. Unfortunately, the civic body, which owns many of these spaces, doesn’t even know their importance or what condition they are in.”
Prakash Belawadi, theatre and film personality, maintained that the government has the tendency of appropriating cultural spaces. The government, he said, neither has the will to look after these public spaces nor the spirit to let them go.
He suggested that the government organise a round-table with theatre activists and others in the cultural field to understand what the community needs. That apart, he suggested that these public spaces be brought under a single public trust for effective management.
Mr. Kappanna suggested that the civic body build new public spaces and hand them over, including the existing ones, to the Department of Kannada and Culture. “The department could possibly outsource the job of running and maintenance of these spaces to those who have studied theatre academically. This will not only generate income to artistes, but also bring in revenue for the government,” he said.
Rise in alternate spaces
The formation of several amateur groups and community theatre groups has created a lot of demand for spaces where their art or performances can be showcased. Many of these public spaces, including those managed privately, are booked months in advance. For instance, the Rangoli Metro Art Centre has been booked for a year.
This has led to the growth of alternate theatre spaces, more often than not provided by private parties.
That they are also affordable is ensuring the growth of amateur theatre groups, said an artiste on condition of anonymity. “There is a sense of intimacy in a smaller space. It also allows us to reduce the production cost,” the artiste said and added that this helps, as the return on investment is low.
Alternate spaces, such as Atta Galatta and Kavade, have hourly rental rates (around ₹250-₹350 per hour) and users have to share 20% of the proceeds as well.
Vinay Chandra, theatre person, said though these alternate spaces are good for performing artistes, they cannot substitute big venues. “Sometimes, the magic of theatre is lost in intimate spaces. Some plays require space; that is the only drawback in these smaller, alternate spaces,” he says.
Artistes withdraw protest
Artistes, who were performing outside the K.H. Kala Soudha, demanding reopening of the art space have decided to withdraw their stir after meeting Mayor G. Padmavathi, local councillor Kempegowda, MLA Ravi Subramanya and officials of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.
According to P.D. Satish, theatre activist, who attended the meeting, the BBMP has decided to float a tender for operating Kala Soudha. “We will participate in the tender that the BBMP will float,” he said and added that the artistes were assured that the premises would be reopened by the middle of August.
