Page 237 - DENG503_INDIAN_WRITINGS_IN_LITERATURE

Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University Unit 29: Mahesh Dattani: Final Solution—Detailed Study

Unit 29: Mahesh Dattani: Final Solution—Detailed Study Notes

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
29.1 Detailed Study—Final Solution
29.2 Critical Appreciation

29.3 Summary
29.4 Key-Words
29.5 Review Questions
29.6 Further Readings

Objectives

After reading this Unit students will be able to:
• Know the life and works of Mahesh Dattani.
• Make critical appreciation of the Play Final Solutions.
Introduction

Mahesh Dattani is considered as one of the best Indian playwrights and he writes his pieces in
English. He is an actor, playwright and director.
After graduation, he worked for a brief period as a copywriter for an advertising firm. In 1986, he
wrote his first play, 'Where There is a Will'.
After his first play, Mahesh Dattani began to concentrate on his writing and wrote more dramas
like Final Solutions, Night Queen, Dance Like a Man, Tara, and Thirty Days. From 1995, he started
working exclusively in theatre.
All his plays address social issues, not the very obvious ones, but the deep-seated prejudices and
problems that the society is usually conditioned to turn away from. His plays deal with gender
identity, gender discrimination, and communal tensions. The play 'Tara' deals with gender
discrimination, '30 Days in September' tackles the issue of child abuse head on, and 'Final Solutions'
is about the lingering echoes of the partition.
It was Alyque Padamsee who first spotted and encouraged Mahesh Dattani's talent and gave him
the confidence to venture into a career in theatre. Dattani formed his own theatre group, Playpen,
in 1984. He is the only English playwright to be awarded the Sahitya Academy Award. He got this
award in 1998. He also writes plays for BBC Radio and he was also one of the 21 playwrights
chosen by BBC to write plays to commemorate Chaucer's 600th anniversary in 2000.
Mahesh Dattani's Play 'Dance Like a Man' was made into a film in 2003, directed by Pamela Rooks
and starring Shobana, Arif Zakaria and Anoushka Shankar. This movie won the award for Best
Picture in English at the National Panorama.
Mahesh Dattani himself directed Mango Soufflé in 2002. He also wrote and directed Morning
Raga in 2004. Starring Shabana Azmi, this movie is about a Carnatic singer whose life has been
traumatized by the loss of her son and her best friend in an accident. It earned Dattani an award
for Best Artistic Contribution at the Cairo Film Festival.

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