City debates lungi no-entry to auditorium for theatre show

Time of India

30-05-2025

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Kolkata: On Thursday evening, a theatre practitioner was denied entry to GD Birla Sabhagar for watching a play, due to his wearing a lungi. Despite Sanskriti Sagar issuing a statement clarifying that the auditorium has no dress code and apologising to the actor, it has caused division among the city's culturati.
Some advocate that shorts and lungi should be permitted, while others believe that, similar to many auditoria abroad, it is important to uphold at least a smart casual dress code.
On Thursday night, Joyraj Bhattacharjee had gone for a show of Koushik Sen's 'Marx in Kolkata', starring Jayant Kriplani and Srjit Mukherji at GD Birla Sabhagar. "Despite having a valid ticket, I was just stopped from entering because I was wearing a lungi.
The doorman clearly stated, 'Lungis are not allowed'," Bhattacharjee posted on Facebook. His note made it clear that the organisers — Swapnasandhani theatre group — should not be held responsible.
This problem, he wrote, lay with "the authorities, not even with the gatekeeper". "I am very comfortable wearing a lungi and have worn it to various venues in the city, including Academy of Fine Arts, Kalamandir and Tapan Theatre and even during my travels abroad.
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No one has stopped me from entering an auditorium because of my attire," Bhattacharjee said.
Soon after his post went viral, Team Sanskriti Sagar apologised to Bhattacharjee, invited him to watch the next show after issuing a statement stating: "We would like to clarify that G D Birla Sabhagar has no dress code or restriction on attire, and everyone, regardless of what they choose to wear, is welcome in the auditorium.
What happened was a lapse in judgment at the gate, and we are taking immediate steps to ensure such incidents never occur again.
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But the incident left open the debate over whether or not the city's auditoria need a dress code. Moulin Rouge, for instance, makes it mandatory for viewers to wear only formals. Those with a ticket but in informal wear have the option of hiring formals available near the entry gate before they are allowed inside.
Bhattacharjee said, "There is an opposite instance where certain venues in Berlin don't allow visitors to enter wearing a three-piece suit.
I do not support either of these approaches. I feel aesthetically and ethically everyone should have the right to choose what attire he wants to wear for a programme," he added.
But what if someone goes shirtless for a play or wears a night suit paired with a dupatta? Sugata Guha, who had gone to watch "Marx in Kolkata" on Thursday, is in favour of having a dress code.
"Attire is also part of our cultural consciousness, and the 'anything goes' attitude in the name of freedom shows a certain cultural degeneration for the lack of being able to do anything better. I don't remember Tagore, Ray, Netaji, Uttam Kumar or even Jyoti Basu attending public events in a lungi.
I feel there should be a dress code for certain closed-door events," Guha said.
Koushik Sen, the play's director, said: "We can understand the difference between someone coming shirtless because of comfort and someone doing it to hog limelight. Yet, I wouldn't want a dress code since that would mean intruding into personal space."