Mapping Social Realities: A Sociological Analysis of Mahesh Dattani’s Select Plays

Abstract

Mahesh Dattani occupies a seminal position in the contemporary Indian English drama due to his unflinching examination of peripheral identities and socio-cultural realisms. Unlike early Indian dramatists who focused essentially on mythological/historical topics, Dattani raises the complexities of modern urban India, asking questions about power dynamics inherent in family, gender, class, sexuality and other social institutions. Through his plays like Tara, Dance Like a Man, Final Solutions, Seven Steps Around the Fire and Where There’s A Will, Dattani exposes societal disparities that stem from patriarchal practices, communal disharmony, gender discrimination and the othering of non-normative identity. The study draws on approaches from sociological critique, feminist theory, gender studies and perspectives that centre the subaltern to analyze the above. Dattani's style of realistic characterisations and his dramatic conflicts reveal the indecisiveness that a civilisation faces standing on the line between tradition and modernity. The paper treats Dattani's play as a sociological artefact that holds a mirror up to the fears, biases and changes in modern-day Indian society. It is also an important aspect of his contribution to the growth of socially orientated Indian English drama, as he dramatizes the silenced voices and suppressed experiences.