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Indian artist slammed for painting on airplane window, clarifies after backlash
A popular Indian artist recently came under fire for a video that shows her painting on an airplane window.
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A popular Indian artist recently came under fire for a video that shows her painting on an airplane window. Mitali Salunke shared the video on Instagram herself, where it quickly became the subject of a heated debate.
The controversial video shows her painting a picture of Lord Ganesha on an airplane window. “Found a new canvas while travelling,” Mitali captioned the clip, which begins with her painting an outline on the window and ends with a coloured portrait of Bappa.
Shared on Instagram one day ago, the video quickly reached the social media platform X where hundreds of people criticised her for damaging public property.
Video draws backlash
“Everywhere they go, [they] damage property,” read one comment on X.
"That's disgusting. Hopefully it got fined and arrested for graffiti," another said. “No fly list for property damage,” a third person suggested.
Some explained why painting on plane windows is a security concern. “Windows are not supposed to be obstructed especially during takeoff/landing,” an X user pointed out.
(Also read: Woman calls out fellow Indian passengers for littering at Canadian airport: ‘Don’t ruin India’s reputation’)
“You're not supposed to do this because the outside air can be -70F. The outside is glass while a thick acrylic pane is on the inside. By putting anything over the windows directly touching the acrylic you cause the reflection of the sun to intensely heat the area between damaging,” another explained.
Artist clarifies
As the video drew condemnation, Mitali Salunke clarified on Instagram that she did not draw directly on the plane window.
Instead, the painting was done on a transparent sheet of paper stuck to the window. In short, no property was damaged.
“It’s on transparent sheet,” the artist clarified in the comments section of her Instagram post. As proof, she shared a photo of herself holding the painted transparent sheet in her hand.
Mitali Salunke and Chetan Advirkar are the couple behind ‘Live Indian Painter’. They claim to have pioneered live wedding painting in India, starting in 2018.
(Also read: Delhi-based influencers play loud music on plane, face backlash: ‘Zero civic sense’)
