Performative Aspects of Mahesh Dattani’s Plays

Modern theatre in India comprises mainly of English, Hindi, Marathi and Hinglish (comprising of a mix of Hindi and English dialogues) plays. English theatre was brought to India during the British rule and was watched mostly by art connoisseurs of the rich, upper class. This, however, changed after independence, as, many Indians entered the fray and theatre slowly became open for common people too. The post-independence Indian English drama is notable for a wide range of subjects treated, issues presented and also it takes into its compass some globally appealing issues. It displays a remarkable growth and maturity. Mahesh Dattani is a dynamic dramatist, a professional Baratnatyam dancer, a drama teacher, a stage director, and an actor. A person, who has touched almost every aspect of the theatre and has received the first ‘SahityaAkadami Award' (1998) for writing in English, he is rightly called the successor of Girish Karnad for his innovations in dialogue writing, pragmatic stage decorations, light arrangements, etc. One of his major contributions is that he has infused actability into Indian drama in English. It seems that, all the limitations, which in a way marred the beauty of Indian English theatre down the decades, are finally overcome. As Reena Mitra observes, ‘Dattani confidently challenges the traditional denotations and connotations of the words' India' and ‘Indians'.1 What makes his plays ‘performance oriented' are his dramatic techniques. The paper intends to focus upon the aspects which make his drama stand out