Final Solutions: A Stage Play

by Mahesh Dattani

‘A playwright of world stature’—Mario Relich, Wasafiri

Final Solutions is one of Mahesh Dattani's most renowned and widely performed plays. Moving between the Partition of India and the present day, it explores issues of religious bigotry and communal violence. One night, after being chased by a murderous mob, two Muslim boys seek shelter in the home of a Hindu Gujarati family. The boys' arrival unleashes a flood of bitter memories and deep-seated prejudices. And as the tension builds towards a powerful climax, the play becomes a timely reminder of the need for tolerance.

‘At last we have a playwright who gives sixty million English-speaking Indians an identity’—Alyque Padamsee

‘Powerful and disturbing’—The New York Times

Genres: Plays, Indian Literature, Fiction, Theatre, College, Drama, Classics

528 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Mahesh Dattani is an Indian director, actor, playwright and writer. He wrote such plays as Final Solutions, Dance Like a Man, Bravely Fought the Queen, On a Muggy Night in Mumbai, Tara,Thirty Days in September and'The murder that never was', starring Dheiraj Kapoor. He is the first playwright in English to be awarded the Sahitya Akademi award. His plays have been directed by eminent directors like Arvind Gaur, Alyque Padamsee and Lillete Dubey. Dattani is also a film director. His debut film is Mango Souffle, adapted from one of his plays. He also wrote and directed the movie Morning Raaga.

Reviews

[Tanvi Kulkarni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m continually impressed by Dattani’s writing. There’s something so special and so homelike about it. His plays are always simple and quick to read, but ALWAYS also have such deep impact on you; they’re meant to stick with you and I wonder so often what it’d be like to watch them in real life. Final Solutions reflects so unabashedly and straightforwardly communal relationships in India, but it has so many themes that are woven so intricately, making it an excellent comment on our beliefs and conditioning towards the subject of idol worship, purity, religion, and most of all, history. My favorite thing about Dattani is that no matter WHEN you pick up a play of his to read, it is ALWAYS relevant. Always important, even in the context of a contemporary analysis of society.

[adya · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst pieces of required reading that I've had to do. The writing was mediocre at best.

It felt as if the book was targeting one specific community, despite being heralded for "talking about inter-community social issues". The characters were not realistic at all, and I found myself being extremely frustrated with their actions.

The book had the opportunity to be poignant and reflective, and the plot could've been miles better, but it just turned out to be irritating.

[Catherine Teres · Rating 5 out of 5]

A harsh depiction of communal riots

This play is one of the most realistic depictions of communal riots in India with representation of both sides. The characters seem real and reveal lot more than it appears to the eye.

[Vivekananda SV · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hinduphobic propaganda. How shameless people can be to project their political agenda!

[Shivani A Pillai · Rating 4 out of 5]

What attracted me to the play was its title, Final Solutions. Fully aware of what the phrase implies in terms of the Holocaust, I had aligned my expectations accordingly. As it turns out, in the play, Mahesh Dattani gives his own take on a different issue. In Final Solutions, the socio-communal problems that plagued India during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement forms the background. Caught in this tense setting, are six individuals: Hardika, Ramanik, Aruna, Smita, Javed and Bobby. The play chronicles their journeys- towards themselves, towards others, and towards their past. The characters are complex. The dramatic techniques are wonderful: the three pronged approach towards the stage, the chorus wearing masks and changing personalities, and Daksha in the form of a memory. This play is a must-read, even though the treatment of female characters is rather objectionable.

[Chhavi Chauhan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dattani tried so hard to appear as a secular- liberal Indian but couldn't hide his Hindu-phobhic propoganda.
(With such mediocre writing style and flat characters he even made it to Sahitya Academy awards?)
Indirectly blaming the riots committed by a certain community on "majority" Hindus, ridiculing age old religious practices as superficial and obsolete (mind you these practices are not hurting any other community at all)
But sympathizing with someone who abused, attacked and hurled stones at innocent people!
I was hoping for him to present the atrocities faced by both communities but he was busy painting a biased picture. Hypocrisy at best.

[Arundhati Girish · Rating 4 out of 5]

The play is rife with communal tensions. The dual perspectives of Hardika and Daksha both being the same person is interesring. How young Daksha kind of resembles Smita. What happened to Hardika seems a bit dismal, being locked up all her life for daring to make a friend. Ramnik, Smita and Bobby seem more liberal in their mindset. Javed is a troubled youth who has been draggend into hate mongering by being paid to throw the first stone. The play brings to the forefront the conflict between religious communities and it's roots in partition.

[Ifa Agnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It takes a lot of things to see things as they are and to portray them in the same way, one of things is the understanding. When you are occupied with a particular lens, the world will be visible in that shade only, but there are more to it, more to it.

I don't know if Geetanjali Shree's Hamara Sahar Us Baras has been inspired from this work, though distinct in its telling, the core theme is the same.

After reading Dattani's plays, a strong desire is developing in me to see them on stage.

[Anisha ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book projects the societal condition of post-independent India. The communal riots between the two major castes project light on the character's inner turmoil and conflicts. While someone is lost in her memories, someone tries to break the stereotypical social norms to become the change that the hateful society needed the most during that apocalyptic time.

[Rishita · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a play. So politically relevant to the times we live in, and so accurate at that. The mob/chorus part where the echo the sentiments of the general masses at large? Or how it's a fairly simple play but it's still so complex with the characters.
Really recommend it, very relevant in contemporary times, everyone should read it.

[Seema Mohanta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jgcbjijffy

[অনিন্দিতা Be · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Aishwarya · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Sudeshna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was a eye opener for me.

[Devansh]

One of the best English Indian plays ever written.
Just like all plays of Mahesh dattani.