‘Unsuitable for public staging': Jaipur's govt-run Jawahar Kala Kendra cancels queer play after complaint
Jaipur's Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) cultural centre has cancelled a queer play following objections, including from the RSS-affiliated Sanskar Bharti.
The play 'Samaaj', which depicts the story of two men in a relationship, was scheduled for the evening of April 26 at JKK's central auditorium.
However, in a letter to the play's director Jainil Mehta, JKK's Additional Director General (Administration), Alka Meena, said that 'short clips and other information related to your play were seen on social media handles by various organisations/individuals, after which a complaint letter has been submitted to JKK, expressing objection to the staging of the play and terming it against the dignity of the prestigious institution of art and culture.'
'The complaints received were evaluated by JKK's Programme Coordinating Committee. The committee found the content of your programme to be unsuitable for public staging in the JKK premises,' says the letter by Meena.
On booking app Bookmyshow, the play is described as 'a gripping journey of self-discovery, love, and the fragile line between acceptance and rejection.'
In its letter dated April 24 to JKK, Sandeep Lele, associated with Sanskar Bharti, termed the staging of the play 'a matter of serious objection and concern,' and that 'it is not only against Indian culture and social values' but 'also seems to be an attempt to mislead the young generation.'
Lele listed several reasons for the objections — 'that it encourages a rebellious attitude towards Indian traditional beliefs and social system; at many places in the dialogues of the play, vulgar and double meaning language has been used, which is against the standards of public performance; the story that promotes homosexual relationships has been made the basic premise, which does not match the general sensibilities of the people.'
Other reasons cited by Sanskar Bharti include that 'the play rejects the family value system and promotes highly individualistic and disorderly ideas in the name of freedom; in the name of experimentalism, indecent and infected language and expression have been employed; and that, in the name of love, the entire presentation gives a message to the young generation of indiscipline and turning away from social norms.'
The play was staged elsewhere in Jaipur the same day.
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