India, Jan. 13 -- The deplorable condition of Pune's iconic Balgandharva Rangmandir has drawn sharp criticism from the theatre community and raised questions about the upkeep of one of the city's most prestigious landmarks.

Marathi theatre actress Amruta Deshmukh drew attention to the poor condition of the auditorium when she shared her anguish on social media after performing in a play staged at Balgandharva Rangmandir on Sunday. She said that she had been witnessing poor conditions at the auditorium for many productions now, and believed that many other artists are facing similar issues.

Deshmukh claimed that the washrooms near the artists' rooms were extremely dirty. "The cleaning staff arrived barely five minutes before the play to ...