MAHESH DATTANI, the first Indian playwright writing in English to be given the Sahitya Akademi Award, speaks with Shalini Saksena about his play Final Solution streaming on ZEE5 and how he got interested
What is Final Solution about?
It is a play that I wrote back in 1990. It is about prejudices and our experiences and how we transfer personal resentment on to others. This is what the play explores. This is based on the riots in the 80s in Ahmedabad. But the play is still relevant since we still see prejudices against outsiders, against migrants, people from different religious backgrounds and gender bias.
How did you hit upon this idea?
Actually, Alyque Padamsee had approached me back then. He had just finished production of one of my earlier plays. He asked me, if I would like to write a play about Hindu-Muslim conflict. That I when I did my research. It took me one-and-a-half years to write it. That is when I realised that the conflict is more about selective memory and transferred resentment.
The topic is explosive. Were there any apprehensions while writing it?
I know that the play would be about tolerance. It is about coming to terms with our demons and settling diversity, differences and animosity. We can have differences without it leading to animosity. Why do we feel threatened? We are probably the only ones in the world to be insecure by a minority group. Where is this coming from? Why is it so easy for vested interests to manipulate this? I hope these are some of these questions that the play raises when people watch it. Hope viewers can have some kind of introspection.
You have directed and written some iconic plays like Dance Like a Man and Murder that Never Was. How did you come up with these stories?
First, I would like to clarify that the Wikipedia page is wrong. I never wrote The Murder that Never Was, I have nothing to do with this play. I don’t know why I am associated with it. Dance Like a Man is based on my guru. I learnt Bharatanatyam in my teens and early 20s. Somewhere the story became a play. I wrote this play in 1988. My guru had been through Independence and how things have changed but not so much for the art form. There was a time during the British era there was an anti-nautch movement because they thought that the Indian dance was too erotic and immoral for them. Moving from that to an economy-driven country, the arts is still not mainstream. I thought telling a story how Bharatnatyam dance survived through all this, is what this play is all about.
How did you get interested in theatre?
I saw my first play when I was 12 and I was bitten by it as an audience. The thought of 500-1000 people watching something live, something that is not being projected but right in front of the eyes with bright light, bright make-up and bright costumes – it was so rich on colour and sensuous for me and attracted me. Then later, I joined a theatre in Bengaluru. One of the good things about Bangalore Little Theatre is that they give opportunity to young people. I was directing plays at a young age and learning at the same time. That was the starting point and there was nothing else that I wanted to do. Even though I assisted my father in his business for 10 years, I did theatre on the side but finally I decided to do it full-time.
Has the theatre scene changed?
It has changed for the better. For me it was all about drama and conflict in the halls with an audience but the trend then shifted to experimental theatre with smaller theatre halls like Prithvi Theatre which focused on going off the beaten track and staging plays even if they didn’t appeal to a thousand people. Now, it has got even more intimate, at least here in Mumbai where they would transform a hall or even a classroom making it a place with 20-50 people. This lends itself to a different theatrical exploration.
What are some of the challenges you face to put up a play today?
Theatre has always faced challenges. Back then it was outreach; how do you publicise yourself. It was very expensive to do so and the conventional way was through the sponsor. Now we don’t need that, it can be done through social media. Having said this, today, production cost, transport, availability of actors, moving from one place to another and place to rehearse are the challenges.
How does the idea of a play being aired on an OTT platform sit with you?
First, it is a great way to document things. We talk about Manohar Singh or Ebrahim Alkazi’s theatre but how much of their performance is documented. We may have some photographs but before that came in, all has been lost. Airing it on OTT platforms is a great way to preserve work for future generations about what we are doing today and what our ethics are. While, it may not be the same as seeing a live play, this is like a translation — like we do from Malayalam to English. But this is done, one loses something but gains as well.
What next?
I am working on a full-length play which may go on the floor early next year. I am also directed a play that was broadcast last week on Zoom. I have been busy teaching — online classes. I have been fairly occupied the last four-five months.