Write life and works of Mahesh Dattani.

Ans.

Mahesh Dattani is a well known name in Indian English Literature and his plays are deeply rooted in the Indian soil. He possesses a deeply analytical insight and studies the middle classes very minutely. This is why he has succeeded in apprehending those weaknesses which cannot be called evils but weaknesses and they are eating the roots of social integration. He presents the problem objectively, but according to his own point of view, in such a way that the readers are quickly and easily made to understand them and without being didactic or moralistic, he teaches them the right ways of life. This is why, he can be safely considered as a dramatist of Indian social life.

Mahesh Dattani was born in 1958 in Bangalore and got his early education at Baldwin Boys High School and St. Joseph College. He is a post graduate in Marketing and Advertising Management, which qualification helped him much in extending his views in the right direction. Very early in his career, he had realised that he would work in the field of drama and theatre and he got wonderful name and fame. His first play, Where There is A Will brought him quick popularity and was an immediate success. After this, he wrote a number of plays like Final Solutions, Seven Circles Round the Fire, Bravely Fought the Queen and many others. In fact, he earned a reputation as a playwright, director, screen writer and film maker. He was honoured with the Sahitya Academy award in 1998, for his collection of plays-Final Solutions and other plays. It was the highest award for a literary work in the country. He is now famous all over the world and many of his plays have been staged in London, New York, Washington, Colombo and Dubai. Some of them have been translated into many Indian languages which proves that he is the most well known dramatist of the modern Indian English drama. His film Dance Like a Man won the best picture in English Award by the National Panorama in 1998. His theme and characters are purely Indian reveal Indian atmosphere, particularly Indian families and this is why, hey as loved and honoured so widely.