‘Marathi creative people keep our cultural heritage alive’: actor

Pune, Sep 11 : People of Maharashtra have immensely contributed to keep the art and culture alive in the state and the country, felt Paresh Raval, noted actor and chairman of the National School of Drama, on Monday.
Speaking as chief guest at a function held to mark commencement of work of the new theatre being developed in the name of legendary actor Dr Shriram Lagoo by the Maharashtra Cultural Centre at Hirabaug in city, he said, “I believe that if I had worked in Marathi films or theatre, my acting abilities would have been further enhanced than they are today. I would have had more opportunities to collaborate with Marathi writers, actors, and literary figures, which would have enriched my artistic journey.”
Narrating some more anecdotes about his connection with the Marathi theatre, the noted actor said, “when the GST was being introduced, I along with Ajit Bhure and Ashok Hande (theatre personalities) went to meet the then Finance minister Arun Jaitley to request him from excluding the drama industry from GST. We met him with NCP chief Sharad Pawar. He (Jaitley) immediately agreed to keep theatres (drama) out of GST slabs.
“When I asked Pawar Saheb about such a quick response on the relaxation from Jaitley ji, Pawar Sahab said that the drama and theatre is about art and culture, and it is possible to keep art and culture alive in Mumbai till there are Marathis (Maharashtrians) in Mumbai. Vadodara is known as the cultural capital of Gujarat and not surprisingly, the city also has a lot of Marathi people,” he noted.
On being invited as the chief guest for this function, Raval said that he felt honoured and blessed to be associated with Dr Shriram Lagoo’s name.
“As an actor, it is a great honour for me to be invited to mark the commencement of work for this special theatre which is in Dr Lagoo’s name,” he added.
He expressed the need of having more such cultural spaces in the country at a time when the country is making progress on all fronts.