Gender Discrimination in Mahesh Dattani’s Play “Dance Like a Man” and “Tara”- A Critical Analysis

This paper highlights the notion of social issues like Gender inequalities, sufferings and depression faced by both men and women with reference to the Indian playwright Mahesh Dattani's plays “Dance Like a Man” (1989) and “Tara” (1990). Dance Like a Man has generously expressed the social issues of contemporary Indian society. The theme of the play is dealt with tradition, relationship, career, and society. The plot revolves around Jairaj and Ratna and their daughter Lata and her fiancé Viswas. A fine metre traces the past of Jairaj, Ratna and Amritlal Parekh, Jairaj's father through the technique of flashback concept. Jairaj and Ratna are exposed to the wrath of Amritlal Parekh who fails to understand their passion and their devotion towards dance and particularly of Jairaj. Mahesh Dattani indicates the typical Indian views about dance through Amritlal Parekh who believes that dance is made only for females. This paper is an attempt to study the gender discrimination in a society, the injustice done only on the term of gender and the preference given to a male child over a female in an Indian family. Here Dattani deals with the theme of gender discrimination in his another play Tara. The play also deals with the emotional and physical separation to conjoined twins. The play presents the deep rooted patriarchal system in the society. Women act as a key in the hands of patriarchy to perpetuate patriarchal values. This paper tries to discuss and analyse the issue of marginalisation of women in the play. Chandan being a boy child is preferred to Tara-a girl child in an Indian family. Bharati despite of being mother of Tara spoils her daughter's life and suffers in the longer run because of her inhuman act. Dr. Thakkar makes the misuse of his profession being the man of science and technology. He was bribed a piece of land by Bharati and her father for surgery that led to the death of Tara.