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Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar (6 January 1928 – 19 May 2008) was an Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marathi. His Marathi plays established him as a writer of plays with contemporary, unconventional themes. He is best known for his plays Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe (1967), Ghashiram Kotwal (1972), and Sakharam Binder (1972). Many of Tendulkar's plays derived inspiration from real-life incidents or social upheavals, which provide clear light on harsh realities. He has provided guidance to students studying "play writing" in US universities. Tendulkar was a dramatist and theatre personality in Maharashtra for over five decades.
He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1984, and Sangeet Nātak Akademi Fellowship, the highest award of Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1998. He also won National Film Award for Best Screenplay for Hindi film, Manthan, 1977.
He grew up watching western plays and felt inspired to write plays himself. At age eleven, he wrote, directed, and acted in his first play.
At age 14, he participated in the 1942 Indian freedom movement, The Frontline , Dec. 2005 leaving his studies. The latter alienated him from his family and friends. Writing then became his outlet, though most of his early writings were of a personal nature, and not intended for publication. During this period, he participated in the activities of Nabajiban Sanghatana, a splinter communist group. He said that he liked the sense of sacrifice and discipline of the communists.
Breaking the vow, in 1956 he wrote Shrimant, which established him as a good writer. Shrimant jolted the conservative audience of the times with its radical storyline, wherein an unmarried young woman decides to keep her unborn child while her rich father tries to "buy" her a husband in an attempt to save his social prestige.
Tendulkar's early struggle for survival and living for some time in tenements (Chawl) in Mumbai provided him first-hand experience about the life of the urban lower middle class. He thus brought new authenticity to their depiction in Marathi theatre. The Tribune, 3 October 2004 Tendulkar's writings rapidly changed the storyline of modern Marathi theatre in the 1950s and the 60s, with experimental presentations by theatre groups like Rangayan. Actors in these theatre groups like Shriram Lagoo, Mohan Agashe, and Sulabha Deshpande brought new authenticity and power to Tendulkar's stories while introducing new sensibilities in Marathi theatre. Shanta Gokhale, Theatre critic and writer
Tendulkar wrote the play Gidhade () in 1961, but it was not produced until 1970. The play was set in a morally collapsed family structure and explored the theme of violence. In his following creations, Tendulkar explored violence in its various forms: domestic, sexual, communal, and political. Thus, Gidhade proved to be a turning point in Tendulkar's writings about the establishment of his own unique writing style. Violence 'Gidhade' and beyond
Based on a 1956 short story, Die Panne () by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Tendulkar wrote the play, Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe (). It was presented on the stage for the first time in 1967 and proved to be one of his finest works. Satyadev Dubey presented it in movie form in 1971 with Tendulkar's collaboration as the screenplay writer.
In 1972, Tendulkar wrote another, even much more acclaimed play, Ghashiram Kotwal (), which dealt with political violence. The play is a political satire created as a musical drama set in 18th century Pune. It combined traditional Marathi folk music and drama with contemporary theatre techniques, creating a new paradigm for Marathi theatre. The play demonstrates Tendulkar's deep study of group psychology, and it brought him a Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship (1974–75) for a project titled, "An Enquiry into the Pattern of Growing Violence in Society and Its Relevance to Contemporary Theatre". With over 6,000 performances thus far in its original and translated versions, Ghashiram Kotwal remains one of the longest-running plays in the history of Indian theatre.
Tendulkar wrote screenplays for the movies Nishant (1974), Akrosh (; 1980), and Ardh Satya (; 1984) which established him as an important "Chronicler of Violence" of the present. He has written eleven movies in Hindi and eight movies in Marathi. The latter include Samana (; 1975), Simhaasan (; 1979), and Umbartha (; 1981). The last one is a groundbreaking feature film on women's activism in India. It was directed by Jabbar Patel and stars Smita Patil and Girish Karnad.
In the 1990s, Tendulkar wrote an acclaimed TV series, Swayamsiddha, in which his daughter Priya Tendulkar, noted Television actress of 'Rajani' fame,Priya Tendulkar performed in the lead role. His last screenplay was for Eashwar Mime Co. (2005), an adaptation of Dibyendu Palit's story, Mukhabhinoy, and directed by theatre director, Shyamanand Jalan and with Ashish Vidyarthi and Pawan Malhotra as leads.
Tendulkar's son Raja and wife Nirmala had died in 2001; his daughter Priya Tendulkar died the next year (2002) of a heart attack following a long battle with breast cancer.
Later, when he was asked if it was not strange that he, who was known as a strong voice against death penalty, had a death wish for Modi, Tendulkar had said that "it was spontaneous anger, which I never see as a solution for anything. Anger doesn't solve problems."
By providing insight into major social events and political upheavals during his adult life, Tendulkar became one of the strongest radical political voices in Maharashtra in recent times. While contemporary writers were cautiously exploring the limits of social realism, he jumped into the cauldron of political radicalism and courageously exposed political hegemony of the powerful and the hypocrisies in the Indian social mindset. His powerful expression of human angst has resulted in his simultaneously receiving wide public acclaim and high censure from the orthodox and the political bigwigs. Vijay Tendulkar speaks to NDTV
Many of Tendulkar's plays derived inspiration from real-life incidents or social upheavals. Thus, the rise of Shiv Sena in Maharashtra in the 1970s was reflected in Tendulkar's Ghashiram Kotwal. The true story of a journalist who purchased of a woman from the rural sex industry to reveal police and political involvement in this trade, only to abandon the woman once he had no further need for her, is detailed in Tendulkar's Kamala. Kamala story 1981 Kamala at salaamtheatre The play was later made into a film Kamla. The real-life story of an actress whose acting career got ruined after her same-sex affair became public knowledge inspired Tendulkar to write Mitrachi Goshta. A study of the play and book, Mitrachi Goshta: A Friend's Story
Tendulkar has translated nine novels, two biographies, and five plays by other authors into Marathi.
Besides the foregoing, Tendulkar's oeuvre includes a biography; two novels; five anthologies of short stories; 16 plays for children, including Bale Miltat (1960) and Patlachya Poriche Lagin (1965); and five volumes of literary essays and social criticism, including Ratrani (1971), Kowali Unhe (1971), and Phuge Sobanche (1974). All in all, Tendulkar's writings have contributed to a significant transformation of the modern literary landscape in Marathi and other Indian languages.
In 2005, a documentary titled Tendulkar Ani Himsa: Kal Ani Aj ("Tendulkar and Violence: Then and Now") with English subtitles The Times of India, Jan 2007 (produced by California Arts Association – CalAA - California Arts Association (CalAA) directed by Atul Pethe) was released. In 2007, a short film about Tendulkar, Ankahin, (director Santosh Ayachit) was released. The Hindu, 20 January 2007
In 1977, Tendulkar won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay for his screenplay of Shyam Benegals movie, Manthan (1976). He has written screenplays for many significant art movies, such as Nishant, Akrosh, Ardh Satya and Aghaat.
A comprehensive list of awards is given below:
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