Abstract
Mahesh Dattani is a well-known playwright and a film director of India, whose themes mainly revolve around modern-day Indian issues. Although the main theme of the drama “Do the Needful” is not about the mindsets of the Indian parents, the researcher has found it interesting that the dialogues between parents of the Lata and Alpesh sound very much like the typical parents of many households. The qualities that the parents look for in a Son-in-law of a Daughter-in-law, the discussion between the mother and father weighing the pros and cons of the match, forcing the wedding on their children, talking high of the properties of the in-laws, all these factors are the stories of many households in India. This research paper is an attempt to bring out some of the typical characteristics of the mindset of the Indian parents with reference to the play. In the first part of the paper, the researcher introduces Mahesh Dattani as a playwright and introduces the general traits of the Indian parents. The researcher justifies that it is not to generalize but to reflect the attitude of the majority of Indian parents. In the second part of the play and the theme are explained. In the next part of the paper, various lines from the play that represent the theme are taken and explained amalgamated with the quotes of other researchers to justify the theme of the research paper. The last part of the research paper concludes with the critical appreciation of the play.
Highlights
Mahesh Dattani’s plays reflect many ills of Indian society
The play “Do the Needful” is one of those romantic comedies that immerses the audience in humour yet brings out a very important shortfalls of Indian society
Avens, in her note to the play, writes about the universal appeal in the drama: “Like all the best love stories, the hero and heroine end up getting married, but the road to marital bliss is full of the most unexpected twists and turns. This was the enjoy of working on Mahesh’s script: his writing, whilst taking on a conventional form and being readily accessible to an audience, never fails to challenge and surprise and whilst the play may be set in India within the conventions of ‘arranged marriages’, its wider themes are universal” (Dattani 2016:138) Typical Traits of Indian Parents: It is not intended to stereotype the attitude of all Indian Parents to a particular category
Summary
Mahesh Dattani’s plays reflect many ills of Indian society. Usually, the plays that highlight the ills of society tend to be serious in their tone but Dattani’s narrative style is quite different in that they do not always seriously portray the ills of society. The play “Do the Needful” is one of those romantic comedies that immerses the audience in humour yet brings out a very important shortfalls of Indian society.
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