Mahesh Dattani (born 7 August 1958) is an Indian director, actor, playwright and writer. He wrote such plays as Final Solutions,^[1] Dance Like a Man, Bravely Fought the Queen, On a Muggy Night in Mumbai, Tara, Thirty Days in September^[2][3] and The Big Fat City.

He is the first playwright in English to be awarded the Sahitya Akademi award.^[4] His plays have been directed by eminent directors like Arvind Gaur, Alyque Padamsee and Lillete Dubey.

Early life and background

Mahesh Dattani was born in Bangalore to Gujarati parents.^[5][6] He went to Baldwin Boys High School and then went on to join St. Joseph's College, Bangalore.^[7]

Dattani is a graduate in History, Economics and Political Science. He completed his post-graduate in Marketing and Advertising Management because he wanted to become a copywriter. He worked with the Bangalore Little Theatre, where his first role was in Utpal Dutt's Surya Shikhar.^[8]

After reading Edward Albee’s play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? early in his life, he became interested in writing. He was also influenced by Gujarati playwright Madhu Rye’s Kumarni Agashi and developed an interest in play writing.^[9]

Career

Mahesh Dattani began his career as a copywriter in an advertising firm. In 1986, he wrote his first full-length play, Where There’s a Will, and since 1995, he has been working as a full-time theatre professional.^[10] He has also worked with his father in the family business.^[8]

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.^[11]

Playwright

• Where There's a Will (1988)
• Dance Like a Man (1989)
• Bravely Fought the Queen (1991)
• Final Solutions (1993)^[12]
• Do The Needful
• On a Muggy Night in Mumbai (1998)
• Seven Circles Round The Fire (Radio play for BBC) (Seven Steps around the Fire) (1998)^[13]
• 30 Days in September (2001)
• The Girl Who Touched the Stars (2007)
• Brief Candle (2009)
• Where Did I Leave My Purdah (2012)
• The Big Fat City (2012)

Filmography

Director

• Mango Souffle^[14]
• Morning Raga
• Dance Like a Man
• Ek Alag Mausam

Awards

• Dance Like a Man has won the award for the Best Picture in English awarded by the National Panorama in 1998
• Sahitya Academy award for his book of plays Final Solutions and Other Plays
• Sahitya Kala Parishad selected Final Solutions (1997), Tara (2000) and 30 Days in September (2007) as best productions of the year, directed by Arvind Gaur.