Posters of the yet-to-be-released Tulu film Pavithra have come up on top of the Warli paintings on the compound wall of Kudmul Ranga Rao Memorial Government Hostel near PVS Circle in the city, defacing the paintings and the wall.
Mangaluru City Corporation and Karnataka Bank had got the wall painted in March 2013 under a joint initiative to prevent defacing of the wall. It was part of the initiative taken up by them to spread the message ranging from “no to plastic” to “anti-littering” to “curb poster sticking on walls” at different places in the city by painting the walls.
Walls of government buildings and institutions at Government Wenlock Hospital and the University College compound wall at Hampankatta had been painted with Warli art under this drive. Karnataka Bank had sponsored this initiative. The Corporation Bank had sponsored another initiative to paint the walls of government education institutions at Ambedkar Circle with Warli.
Artist Dinesh Holla, under whose guidance the paintings had been completed by artists Harish Kodialbail and Harish Marne and others from a team called Lahari, said that defacing the walls showed least respect to an art form. Mangaluru City Corporation and the district administration should take action against those who have defaced the walls under the Karnataka Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act 1981.
Artist Kodialbail said that he was pained as the posters were pasted more than two weeks ago. The corporation should take legal action against the makers of the film.
Shashank Shetty, founder, S Cube Art Gallery, which led the initiative, said that the purpose of painting the wall of the hostel had been defeated. Santhosh Kumar, officer of the district social welfare department which manages the hostel, said that he would ask the taluk social welfare officer to file a complaint.
When reporters questioned the producer of the film Anantharama Rao Yermal about it at a media conference here on Wednesday, he said that he was not aware of it as he lives in Chennai. Mr. Rao said that it was unintentional and he was sorry for it. Mr. Rao promised that the posters would be removed. “Please don’t make it an issue,” he said. Mr. Rao said that the film would be released in the coastal region on Friday.
