Vijay Tendulkar : Leading Indian Playwright
Vijay Tendulkar (7 January 1928 – 19 May 2008) was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi. He is best known for his plays, Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe (1967), Ghāshirām Kotwāl (1972), and Sakhārām Binder (1972).Many of Tendulkar’s plays derived inspiration from real-life incidents or social upheavals, which provides clear light on harsh realities. He provided his guidance to students studying “Playwright writing” in US universities. For over five decades, Tendulkar had been a highly influential dramatist and theater personality in Mahārāshtra.
Awards
Tendulkar won Maharashtra State government awards in 1956, 1969 and 1972; and “Mahārāshtra Gauruw Puraskār” in 1999. He was honored with the Sangeet Nātak Akademi Award in 1970, and again in 1998 with the Academy’s highest award for “lifetime contribution”, the Sangeet Nātak Akademi Fellowship (“Ratna Sadasya”). In 1984, he received the Padma Bhushan award from the Government of India for his literary accomplishments.
In 1977, Tendulkar won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay for his screenplay of Shyām Benegal’s movie, Manthan (1976). He has written screenplays for many significant art movies, such as Nishānt, Ākrosh, and Ardh Satya.
A comprehensive list of awards is given below:
* 1970 Sangeet Nātak Akademi Award
* 1970 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay Award
* 1977 National Film Award for Best Screenplay: Manthan
* 1981 Filmfare Best Screenplay Award: Aakrosh
* 1981 Filmfare Best Story Award: Aakrosh
* 1983 Filmfare Best Screenplay Award: Ardh Satya
* 1984 Padma Bhushan
* 1993 Saraswati Samman
* 1998 Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
* 1999 Kalidas Samman
* 2001 Katha Chudamani Award
* 2006 The Little Magazine SALAM Award
Bibliography
Novels
* Kādambari: Ek (Novel: One) (1996)
* Kādambari: Don (Novel: Two) (2005)
Short Story Anthologies
* Dwandwa (Duel) (1961)
* Phulāpākhare (Butterflies) (1970)
Plays
* Gruhastha (Householder) (1947)
* Shrimant (The Rich) (1956)
* Mānoos Nāwāche Bet (An Island Named ‘Man’) (1958)
* Thief! Police!
* Bāle Miltāt (1960)
* Gidhāde (The Vultures) (1961)
* Pātlāchyā Poriche Lagin (Marriage of a Village Mayor’s Daughter) (1965)
* Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe(Hindi: Khāmosh! Adālat Jāri Hai) (Silence! The Court is in Session) (1967)
* Ajgar Ani Gandharwa (A Boa Constrictor and “Gandharwa”)
* Sakharam Binder (Sakhārām, the Book-Binder) (1972)
* Kamalā (“Kamala”) (1981)
* Mādi [in Hindi]
* Kanyādān (Giving Away of a Daughter in Marriage) (1983)
* Anji
* Dāmbadwichā Mukābalā (Encounter in Umbugland)
* Ashi Pākhare Yeti (Hindi: Panchi Aise Aate Hain) (Thus Arrive the Birds)
* Kutte
* Safar/Cyclewallah (The Cyclist) (1991)
* The Masseur (2001)
* Pāhije Jātiche (It Has to Be in One’s Blood)
* Jāt Hi Poochho Sādhu Ki (Ask a Fakir’s Lineage)
* Mājhi Bahin (My Sister)
* Jhālā Ananta Hanumanta (“Infinite” Turned “Hanumanta”)
* Footpāyrichā Samrāt (Sidewalk Emperor)
* Mitrāchi Goshta (A Friend’s Story) (2001)
* Anand Owari [A play based on a novel by D. B. Mokashi]
* Bhāu MurārRāo
* Bhalyākākā
* Mee Jinkalo Mee Haralo (I won, I Lost)
* His Fifth Woman [in English] (2004)
* Bebi
Musicals
* Ghashiram Kotwal (Ghashiram, the Constable) (1972)
Translations
* Mohan Rakesh’s Adhe Adhure (originally in Hindi)
* Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq (originally in Kannada)
* Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire (originally in English)