Adoor Gopalakrishnan, who is regarded the most acclaimed contemporary filmmaker of India, last Monday (29) told a gathering at Maharagama that the television and popular cinema has greatly destroyed the sensitivity of the present generation.

Addressing the audience after screening his 2007 documentary ‘Dance of the Enchantress’ that marked the end of the an international documentary and short film festival and competition held at National Youth Centre, Maharagama, Gopalakrishnan, who has been bestowed with the esteemed Indian national awards of both Padma Vibhushan and Padma Shri, said the extensive addiction to popular cinema and the TV has created a great descent in traditional and serious arts including cinema.

"The trend is commonplace in Indian and the whole region. Even in my native place Kerala, it’s not different. The restraint and discipline needed for appreciating and admiring serious arts are slowly vanishing. It’s deterioration," Gopalakrishnan, 67, who is a member of the festival jury said.