Distinguished Indian playwright, screenwriter to visit

UW–Madison will host India’s leading playwright and theater personality, Vijay Tendulkar, as a distinguished visitor this month. Tendulkar will be in residence as a Brittingham and Halls-Bascom Visiting Scholar from Oct. 7-17. He will deliver guest lectures in several undergraduate classes and graduate seminars, and speak about drama, theater, film and television at various colloquia. He will also participate in a series of events that are free and open to the general public.

Tendulkar is a dramatist, fiction writer, literary essayist, children’s author, political journalist and social critic in Marathi, the principal language of the state of Maharashtra in western India. He has been a major influence on the Bombay’s modern literary landscape.

Tendulkar has also been a key figure in India’s “middle cinema,” which stands in contrast to the art cinema of filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray and the commercial cinema produced by “Bollywood,” the largest film industry in the world. He has written stories, screenplays and dialogue for 19 films in Marathi and Hindi. Among them are such classics as “Nishant” (The End of the Night, 1975), “Manthan” (The Churning, 1977) and “Umbartha” (The Threshold, 1981), as well as the award-winning “Akrosh” (Rage, 1980) and “Ardha-satya” (The Half-Truth, 1983).

He is unique among Indian playwrights today,” says Aparna Dharwadker, an assistant professor in the Department of Theater and Drama and the Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia. According to Dharwadker, Tendulkar stands out because of the versatility with which he has combined a major career in theater with social activism and extensive work for film and television.

“As author and activist, he has changed our understanding of Indian history, society, family relationships, and many politically and economically disadvantaged groups,” says Dharwadker. “For me, his visit is a strong sign of the interest in interdisciplinary and international work on this campus.”

Tendulkar’s residency has been made possible by a Brittingham grant and a Halls-Bascom grant. Additional support has been provided by the departments of Theater and Drama, Communication Arts, and Languages and Cultures of Asia, the Center for South Asia, and the International Institute.

On Monday, Oct. 7, faculty and students from the Department of Theater and Drama will perform a staged reading of Tendulkar’s best-known play in English translation, “Silence! The Court Is in Session.” The performance is scheduled in Mitchell Theater, Vilas Communication Hall, at 3:30 p.m. The film “Akrosh” will be screened at Lowell Center on Monday, Oct. 14, and the film “Manthan” will be screened at the Pyle Center on Tuesday, Oct. 15. Both events begin at 6 p.m., followed by a discussion with the playwright. On Wednesday, Oct. 16, Tendulkar and UW students will read select scenes from some of his plays in Marathi and in English translation, starting at 6 p.m. at the Pyle Center.

For further details on Vijay Tendulkar and his residency at UW–Madison, please contact Rachel Weiss, outreach coordinator, Center for South Asia, at rweiss@facstaff.wisc.edu or (608) 262-9224, or Dharwadker at adharwadker@facstaff.wisc.edu.