Choices, choices
ANJANA RAJAN
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Who is to decide how much money an artiste deserves?
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PHOTO: K. GAJENDRAN
A QUESTION OF TASTE Pandit Jasraj.
The age-old debate on the value of popular arts vis-à-vis the classical traditions has flared up again, thanks to the dust storm stirred up by the Lucknow Mahotsav that concluded recently. Money makes the world go round, and this time it has folks in a tizzy, since the report is that while veteran Hindustani vocalist Pandit Jasraj received a fee of less than Rs.4 lakhs for performing at the festival, yesteryear's Hindi heartthrob and currently Samajwadi Party MP Jayaprada received 35 lakhs for presenting the dance drama `Amrapali', a non-stop filmi extravaganza choreographed by Bhushan Lakhandri with music by Ravindra Jain.
The dramatic difference in payments has incensed some, though obviously the politicians who have risen in defence of Pandit Jasraj have only smelt an opportunity to score political brownie points against the Mulayam Singh Yadav government and cannot be suspected of having any love lost for the classical arts. The question that emerges is how, if at all, the arts can be valued in monetary terms. It seems to boil down to a question of taste. Especially as this festival is, according to P.K. Singh, Secretary, Lucknow Mahotsav, a "semi-government" event. All the funds for the festival, barring a Rs.1 lakh grant from the State government, are raised through sponsorship, entry tickets, stall rental and other means.
Says Singh, `Amrapali' so floored the Mahotsav organisers who saw it at the closing ceremony of the Taj Mahal's 350-year celebrations, that they were convinced it had to be brought to Lucknow too. Extra efforts were made to raise the money, and the entire amount was paid by the Sahara and Zee groups.
Not perturbed
Pandit Jasraj on his part is not perturbed. "There are greater onslaughts on our cultural heritage. We are practically losing it to foreign countries. The media should concentrate on more serious issues," says the doyen of the Mewati gharana of Hindustani music, adding on a lighter note, "After all, there is a value for looks (roop rang) too!"
PHOTO: PTI
BEYOND AMRAPALI Jayaprada performing at the Lucknow Mahotsav.
Among a long list of performers at the 10-day cultural extravaganza that forms an important part of the Mahotsav were some of the young things on today's star firmament, including Shreya Ghoshal and Abhijeet Sawant. They rubbed shoulders with stalwarts like music composer and filmmaker Muzaffar Ali, who presented an evening called `Aao Sanwaare Lucknow', besides artistes of the Bharatiya Kala Kendra, New Delhi, and others from within and outside Lucknow. Interestingly, the bill for all these put together was covered by sponsorship totalling approximately Rs.30 lakhs!
Jayaprada is understandably peeved by the uproar in which politics has taken the lead. But she answers in equal measure. "I have not siphoned off oil, I have not clandestinely sold petrol. I can only earn as an artiste, and if corporate houses come forward to pay me my market rate, why should anyone complain? I have not taken a penny from the government. I can live without charging a penny for my performances, but what about my troupe?"
Pandit Jasraj, with whom she shares a mutual regard, also points out the size of her group. Yes, Rs.7 lakhs is said to be her personal fee, but she reiterates, "This question should be put to the corporate houses, not to me. Nobody asks Arun Jaitley or Kapil Sibal what fees they get for their practice."
True, who is to decide how the corporates spend their money? Comments Hindustani vocalist Madhup Mudgal, who heads New Delhi's Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and has been organising the institution's flagship event, the Vishnu Digambar Jayanti for decades, "If any magazine sells for Rs.500, it will be lapped up, yet books by Tulsidas will be hard to get rid of even at Rs.2. Then again, if film personalities do something even remotely classical, people feel they are doing us a favour. And in such events where popular art forms are mixed up with the classical, the excuse is that it is for the common people. These (discrepancies) are a part of life. There's no use cribbing!"
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