Renowned magician and motivational speaker Gopinath Muthukad recently found himself embroiled in controversy following allegations involving his institute, Different Arts Center, and its work with children with disabilities. The accusations, primarily levied by Chitra CR (mother of a child with disability) on Facebook, are centered on financial mismanagement.
Chitra's primary concern is related to the alleged misuse of government funding allocated to Muthukad’s Arts Center located in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram. She questioned the lack of proper audits and transparency regarding the utilisation of the allotted funds.
“He received Rs 1.75 crore from the government without the permission of the concerned departments and, this year, Rs 75 lakh has been allocated for his institution. Apart from this, more than Rs 2 crore has been received from the Department of Culture so far,” Chitra alleged in her Facebook post, attaching the relevant documents she said to have received through the Right to Information Act.
Different Arts Center only admits skilled children with disabilities, and Chitra alleged that only a small percentage of the allocated funds are used for their welfare. “This is injustice and discrimination. Does that mean that the vast majority of differently abled children who are unskilled are not entitled to any government benefits?” she questioned. Chitra also alleged that Muthukad is hypocritical, only showing care and affection toward children in public for traction.
Other Facebook users also raised similar allegations about the Center following Chitra’s post, and on January 1st, Muthukad took to his YouTube channel to directly address the allegations. He vehemently denied any wrongdoing and offered explanations to counter the claims.
“We are getting grants from the Department of Culture because magic is an art form recognised by the Sangeet Nataka Academy. The budget allocations started six years back and all of these amounts were properly audited,” Muthukad said. He added that the Arts Center is a registered charitable society with the permit to receive funds from abroad as well as from companies as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) budgets. He further clarified that funds are only accepted through bank accounts and are accurately accounted for.
Responding to the criticism about only admitting skilled children with disabilities, Muthukad explained that his academy is an art center that aims to teach magic and other art forms to children with disabilities so that they can work and earn from it. “This is not an institution of special education to children. So, we cannot admit every child,” he said.
He said that the institute must continue forever, stating his intention to hand it over to someone capable when the time comes.
The Different Art Centre was formally inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in 2019 at the Kinfra Film and Video Park premises in Thiruvananthapuram’s Kazhakuttam. It was in November 2021 that magician Muthukad announced his retirement from his professional career spanning four decades and started working for children with disabilities.