Collected Plays: Vol. 1

by Mahesh Dattani

Mahesh Dattani is the first Indian-playwright writing in English to be awarded the Sahitya Akademi award. His plays bring Indian drama into the present day in their themes "sexuality, religious tension and gender issues" while still focussing on human relationships and personal and moral choices which are the classic concerns of world drama.

Genres: Plays, Theatre

533 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 1999

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

[Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my list of 'Favourite Authors', I have added yet another name. Rarely does it happen that an author's works, one after another, feed more heat to the already scorching sun and the invisible energies that keep the world afloat, simultaneously, bring in a few soothing touches of wind.

Seven Steps Around The Fire fulfills the marital oaths in a rather twisted manner as Uma, the wife of Chief Superintendent Suresh Rao, delves into the mystery surrounding the death in a transgender community of Bangalore. On A Muggy Night In Mumbai is a play that depicts gender fluidity in all its light. It revolves around gay men forcing themselves to become straight due to societal pressure. Mango Soufflé, which is included in the Volume Two, is the screenplay of On A Muggy Night in Mumbai.

Do The Needful navigates the relationship formed between a homosexual man and a heterosexual woman, as they break free from the constraints of norms and fill their existence with their independent choices. Final Solutions brings to light the demons of communal hatred kept behind the closed doors of one's heart, ready to throttle the uninterrupted pulsation of day-to-day survival.

Bravely Fought The Queen spotlights on "the anguish in the blood-knot of the family" as the terrible faces are revealed and the facade of familial ties are encumbered. Tara continues with the theme of a family's blood-knot as it tries to save their little boy, choosing him over his conjoined sister. Dance Like A Man is a breathtaking tale of lyrical luminosity. It paints a substantial picture of patriarchy and the horror any deviation from the norm could result into. Where There's A Will lays out the power dynamics of a rich family as Hasmukh Mehta watches over his relations and tries to control them even after his death.

Thirty Days In September goes into the past and present of a mother-daughter duo to unravel the secrets buried that unites them in a way nothing else could have. Clearing The Rubble is the aftermath of the 2002 earthquake in Gujarat. The resultant devastation is mired with the religion-based inequality in relief works. The Swami And Winston is a sequel to Seven Steps Around the Fire. Uma finds herself in the mess of Hindutva as she attempts on yet another case for her research on violence in India.

Happiness seems to be lurking around in Dattani's play, but rarely does it take the center stage. Morning Raga is one such rare example. As is characteristic of life and of Dattani's play's, it is not one of those feel-good stories, but it certainly has a happy ending, particularly for the three musicians united by an accident. Uma And The Fairy Queen brings back Uma and her detective mind as the pinning down of the fairy queens is brought to fore. She removes the cloak of mystery from yet another high-profile case and left me wondering about the playwright's finesse as he builds upon A Midsummer Night's Dream and weaves it in to create a splendid work.

Ek Alag Mausam is a screenplay centring on the lives of people affected by AIDS. It masterfully carves out the various dilemmas and little happinesses as the characters try to make sense of the sudden changes. Dattani uses the form of a monologue to play out Anna Gosweb's thoughts in The Tale Of A Mother Feeding Her Child.

[Shom Biswas · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a stage in my life where I became awfully interested in theatre. All stemmed from a stage performance of Final Solutions (which is a bold, prescient play, perhaps more relevant today than even then), at Guru Nanak Bhavan, Bengaluru, around the turn of the millennium.
There are happy memories around some very poignant writing....

[Yajnaseni Roy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read other brilliant social dramas, I found this book to be just okay. Although the author's works claim to have given a voice to the Indian urban English speaking population and their needs, aspirations and issues, the characters become so one dimensional in that endeavour that the play becomes unrealistic and automated. As if I could almost see what was going to happen. The dialogue wasn't catchy enough and seemed stunted, revolving around one or two identified issues. Surprisingly, when I had watched Dance Like a Man, I had liked it quite a bit. I guess dramatising these plays would be a better way of being acquainted with his works.

[Saumyakanti Bhattacharya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read

[sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

all of the plays in his collections were really good. my favourites being- On a Muggy Night in Mumbai and Bravely Fought the Queen- just to name a few.

[Sulagna Ghosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alque Padamsee had declared that with Mahesh Dattani, "At last we have a playwright who gives sixty million English-speaking Indians an identity" and I must oblige that Dattani is a genius who does this and so much more.We had his 'Bravely Fought the Queen' in our honours curriculum and then I read 'Tara' and was hooked.This book should be promoted as being a collector's edition...it's that great!(comprising of plays like 'Seven Steps Around the Fire','Do the Needful','Final Solutions','Dance like a Man','On a Muggy Night in Mumbai','Where there is a Will',besides the two I already mentioned above).Dattani's plays deal with homosexuals,transsexuals,homophobic heterosexuals...promoting gender fluidity on one hand and on the other presenting us with a scathing portrayal of the patriarchal masochists dominating over the weaker sex in society.the plays present both the best and the worst of the phenomenon called "modern India" where arranged marriages set up through advertisements in newspapers force the prospective life partners to reconcile themselves to a lifetime of adjustments-an economically viable world where a legal document like the will is required to bind a family together.Dattani's skill lies in the fact that though he deals in serious issues like female infanticide,his style is not over-the-top and melodramatic but subtle and suggestive so that which is left unsaid influences the readers much more than what is visible in fine print.

[Nirmala Vasigaren · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read this, it had been a while since I read a play that I enjoyed. Really liked it.

[Aruna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories resonate with you for quite a few days after you read them.. Brilliant!!