LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 17:3 March 2017
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
         Renuga Devi, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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A Study for the Search of Identity:
Queer Space in Mahesh Dattani’s On A Muggy Night In Mumbai and
Do The Needful

Vinu C. James

Abstract

Mahesh Dattani is a versatile playwright, actor, director, screen writer, film maker, teacher and a man of erudite aspects. His writing is the metamorphosis for the modern contemporary Indian society, of his own life and of others too. The present paper is a brief study of the major plays of Mahesh Dattani. Here my attempt is to highlight the ‘Queer Space’ (homosexuality, gender issues) by Dattani in his plays. (The term queer is used here in non-pejorative modern sense, as analysis of the history of the use of the term clearly shows that it is used as part of gay pride.) The themes of taboo relationship and homosexuality are the prime motives of the plays like On a Muggy Night in Mumbai and Do the Needful. Queer presence in Dattani’s work can be seen in the play Do the Needful (1997). The plot centers on the negotiations for an arranged marriage between Alpesh, a Gujarati man, and Lata, a Kannada woman. It is revealed that the woman is not ready for the marriage because she loves Salim, a Muslim man, while the prospective groom is in love with a man named Trilok. Although she tells Alpesh about her love for another man, Alpesh keeps mum about his homosexual relationship. Alpesh’s homosexuality is revealed to Lata when she surprises him and the gardener of her family having sex in the cow shed, just as she is about to flee with Salim. At first horrified, she decides that the best way to cope up with the situation is to marry Alpesh. On a Muggy Night in Mumbai (1998) places homosexuality at its central attraction. In this play, five are gay men and one is a lesbian. The plot hinges on Kamlesh’s trying to conceal from his sister Kiran the fact that he was in a relationship with the man she is about to marry. The play samples a wide canvas of male homosexual presence in Indian society. Kamlesh is a compromising & straight-acting gay man. His ex-boyfriend Sharad is intelligent and campy. Ed is in denial and is ready for a heterosexual marriage after having an affair with his fiancée’s brother, Kamlesh. Bunny is a celebrity and in the closet. Having all these themes and ideas into focus, in this paper my attempt is to analyze the plays of Dattani in the light of Queer Space.

Keywords: Mahesh Dattani, On a Muggy Night in Mumbai, Do the Needful, Queer space, identity, heterosexual, Mahesh Dattani and His Choice of Themes

Mahesh Dattani’s Works

Mahesh Dattani occupies a very prominent place in Indian English literature. His presentation of problems from real life situations is noteworthy contribution to Indian English drama. Among modern Indian playwrights, Dattani stands forth for vividness, artistic perception and immense dramatic soul. He tackles some serious problems prevailing in urban India in his plays. Specially, he gives tone of voice to the troubles and sufferings of the marginalized people of our society. His plays contain human pathos, passions, conflict and appeal to human sentiment. Dattani plays an essential role to put Indian English drama to the level of world drama. The current study is an analytical account of Dattani’s On a Muggy Night in Mumbai and Do the Needful where he challenges the traditional norms of heterosexuality and finds the queer space in it.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

VINU C. JAMES, M.Phil. Scholar
CMS College
Near CRI Pumps
Chinnavedampatty
Coimbatore 641049
Tamil Nadu
India
superbrainmjv@gmail.com
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