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)

Marathi dramatist, Vijay Tendulkar, who kicked-off a virtual revolution in Indian theatre both in terms of content and style, passed away at a city hospital on Monday at 8am.

Best known for his play Ghasiram Kotwal , a brilliant satire on political violence, and which has had a phenomenal run of 6,000 shows since 1972, Tendulkar was struck by myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disease. He was 80 and hospitalized since April 10.

Writing his first story at the age of six and making his tryst with the stage — as writer, director and actor — five years later, Mr. Tendulkar swore never to write at the age of 22 when his play Grihast was heckled off the stage.

Staging a comeback, he went on to write over 30 full-length plays, several one-act plays, collection of short stories and film scripts; many of which brought him awards.

Tendulkar’s most controversial plays — ‘Ghasiram Kotwal’ and ‘Sakharam Binder’, stirred a hornet’s nest in Maharashtra after it was staged in 1972. In ‘Ghasiram Kotwal’, the controversial depiction of the historical character of Nana Phadnavis, a revered statesman during the Peshwa rule in Maharashtra, angered Brahmins and led to a series of protests. The troupe of Ghashiram Kotwal, a play with a novel mix of dance and music, directed by Jabbar Patel, faced violent protests from the audience.

Tendulkar, however, was never apologetic over the characterisation of Nana, who was portrayed as a lecherous character, notwithstanding his stature as a statesman. He had the last laugh when the play was acclaimed internationally for its innovative content and presentation.

Tendulkar went on to author 27 plays which included ‘Gidhade’ (Vultures), ‘Ashi Paakhre Yeti’, ‘Shantata Kortchalu Aahe’, ‘Sreemant’, ‘Baby’, ‘Maadi’, and ‘Grihastha’.

His versatility and creativity was reflected in screenplays, dialogues and stories which he wrote for many widely hailed movies such as ‘Manthan’ directed by Shyam Benegal. He also won laurels for the screen plays of ‘Ardhasatya’, ‘Akorsh’ and Marathi film ‘Saamna’.

Writing in practically every form, he picked up awards on the way, including the Padma Bhushan, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Filmfare Award, Saraswati Samman, Kalidas Samman, Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar. Films like ‘Aakrosh’, ‘Manthan’ and ‘Ardha Satya’ — each a powerful example of India’s “alternate cinema” — brought him instant fame but that did not draw Mr. Tendulkar to mainstream cinema despite offers from big-ticket producers like Raj Kapoor and Yash Chopra. In his own words, “writer is no more than a hack” for mainstream cinema. The playwright’s personal life was wrought with tragedy towards his twilight years — he lost his wife and two children, including television actress Priya Tendulkar in close succession.