Mahesh Dattani

Early life and background

Mahesh Dattani was born in Bangalore. He went to Baldwin Boys High School and then went on to join St. Joseph's College, Bangalore. Dattani is a graduate in History, Economics and Political Science. He is a post-graduate in Marketing and Advertising Management. After reading Edward Albee’s play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf early in his life, Mahesh became interested in writing. He was also influenced by Gujarati playwright Madhu Rye’s Kumarni Agashi and developed an interest in playwriting.

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. He has also worked with his father in the family business.

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.

Playwright

Where There's a Will, 1988

Dance Like a Man, 1989

Tara, 1990

Bravely Fought the Queen, 1991

Final Solutions, 1993

On a Muggy Night in Mumbai, 1998

Seven Circles Round The Fire (Radio play for BBC) (Seven Steps around the Fire), 1998

The Murder That Never Was, 2000

30 Days in September, 2001

Brief Candle, 2009

Where Did Leave My Purda,2012

The Big Fat City,2012

Director

Mango Souffle

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.