Vijay Tendulkar's Plays and Society
Vijay Tendulkar’s works and society
Post independence, the 50s and 60s were decades when a new India was being built. Every field was moving towards change. Marathi theatre too, which was hitherto trapped in melodrama and mediocrity, was moving towards this change. Veterans like Bhau Padhyay, Jayavant Dalvi and Vijay Tendulkar, among many more brought about this change.
Journalist turned playwright, novelist, short story writer and screenplay writer, Vijay Tendulkar was known for his portrayal of that real, ugly face of the Indian middle class which most people found uncomfortable to deal with. This portrayal of reality drew him into many controversies. He battled bans and censor boards to take his message across to his audience.
Tendulkar was known to be a playwright who was much ahead of his times. During the 60s and the 70s, i.e. when Tendulkar’s plays began getting staged, our society was largely an optimistic one, comfortable in its own shell. It was a society that was hopeful for change, but at the same time, it was unwelcoming of the realities Tendulkar was addressing through his works.
Tendulkar’s works revolved around various themes like revenge, hypocrisy, patriarchy and violence. His works are timeless and, though around fifty years old, they are as relevant today as they were then. Tendulkar’s plays were aimed at the middle class, and he always managed to unknowingly shock the middle class. He showed them, through his plays, that ugly side of them which they preferred to hide. He realistically portrayed the complex relation between the common man and society. He did not take a moral stand in his plays. He attempted to find realistic solutions to the violence and hypocrisy without being too naïve and simplistic. The central theme of his plays was ‘situations make men behave like animals towards other men’, and he effectively brought this out through his works.
Vijay Tendulkar was the first playwright who took Marathi theatre outside Maharashtra.
Post independence, the 50s and 60s were decades when a new India was being built. Every field was moving towards change. Marathi theatre too, which was hitherto trapped in melodrama and mediocrity, was moving towards this change. Veterans like Bhau Padhyay, Jayavant Dalvi and Vijay Tendulkar, among many more brought about this change.
Journalist turned playwright, novelist, short story writer and screenplay writer, Vijay Tendulkar was known for his portrayal of that real, ugly face of the Indian middle class which most people found uncomfortable to deal with. This portrayal of reality drew him into many controversies. He battled bans and censor boards to take his message across to his audience.
Tendulkar was known to be a playwright who was much ahead of his times. During the 60s and the 70s, i.e. when Tendulkar’s plays began getting staged, our society was largely an optimistic one, comfortable in its own shell. It was a society that was hopeful for change, but at the same time, it was unwelcoming of the realities Tendulkar was addressing through his works.
Tendulkar’s works revolved around various themes like revenge, hypocrisy, patriarchy and violence. His works are timeless and, though around fifty years old, they are as relevant today as they were then. Tendulkar’s plays were aimed at the middle class, and he always managed to unknowingly shock the middle class. He showed them, through his plays, that ugly side of them which they preferred to hide. He realistically portrayed the complex relation between the common man and society. He did not take a moral stand in his plays. He attempted to find realistic solutions to the violence and hypocrisy without being too naïve and simplistic. The central theme of his plays was ‘situations make men behave like animals towards other men’, and he effectively brought this out through his works.
Vijay Tendulkar was the first playwright who took Marathi theatre outside Maharashtra.