Theatre & Dance: Special Series; Chetan Datar

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Dec 6, 1999

SPECIAL SERIES

Chetan Datar, 35
Playwright/Director

THE CONFRONTATIONIST
He sees convention as a chance for confrontation. He is also a major director of Marathi theatre. It's taken him more than a decade, but with Gandhi Ambedkar, the path-breaking play written by Premanand Gajwee, Chetan Datar has finally arrived. The play -- a stark, no-frills dialogue -- brings out the ideological contrast between the two icons. It ran for more than 80 shows, a triumph not just for Datar but for contemporary Marathi theatre. "I have no agenda," says Datar. "But we all grew up learning about Gandhiji while Ambedkar remained a distant figure. The truth is different."

Datar keeps pushing. Critic Shanta Gokhale recalls Savlya, Datar's first effort as a writer in 1987, a play about three women who strive to rise above social constraints. "That play held immense promise for him," says Gokhale. "He has a lot of unusual ideas." He's up front, confrontational. Like the play Radha Vaja Ranade, about an individual's social responsibility, that premiered recently. Do the words "packed house" and "major new work" explain the extent of critical acclaim?

-Sheela Raval

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