Final Solution

Hello everyone,

This blog is response to the task assigned by Vaidehi ma'am as part of thinking activity and syllabus. In this blog i would like write about my understanding of the play Final Solutions by Mahesh Dattani. 

Mahesh Dattani:-

Mahesh Dattani is an Indian director, actor, playwright and writer. He wrote such plays as Final Solutions, Dance Like a Man, Bravely Fought the Queen, On a Muggy Night in Mumbai, Tara, Thirty Days in September and The Big Fat City.

He is the first playwright in English to be awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award.His plays have been directed by eminent directors like Arvind Gaur, Alyque Padamsee and Lillete Dubey.

 

About the Play:-

In this play Mahesh Dattani writes about the society and surroundings in which he lives. He holds a

mirror to make reality visible to the audience. The play Final Solutions critically intervenes the post-

independence era which has a communally vitiated socio-political scenario. The main character, Dakhsa also

known as Hardika in the play fuses into past and present. The theme of communal tension is given historical depth

through flashbacks featuring Hardika at the age of fifteen in 1948 and her experience in the aftermath of the

partition returns

1.)What is the significance of the subtitle "The Final Solutions"?

The play moves from the partition to the present day communal riots. It probes into the religious bias2 by examining the attitudes of three generations of a middle-class Gujarati business family, Hardika, the grandmother, is obsessed with her father's murder during the partition turmoil and the betrayal by a Muslim friend, Zarine. Her son, Ramnik Gandhi, is haunted by the knowledge his fortunes were founded on a shop of Zarine's father, which was burnt down by his kinsmen.

Hardika's daughter-in-law, Aruna, lives by the strict code of the Hindu Samskar and the granddaughter, Smita, cannot allow herself a relationship with a Muslim boy. The pulls and counter-pulls of the family are exposed when two Muslim boys, Babban and Javed, seek shelter in their house on being chased by a baying Hindu mob.

Babban is a moderate while Javed is an aggressive youth. After a nightlong exchange of judgements and retorts between the characters, tolerance and forgetfulness emerge as the only possible solution of the crisis. Thus, the play becomes a timely reminder of the conflicts raging not only in India but in other parts of the world.

Mahesh Dattani's 'Final Solutions' is that rare look at a socio-political problem that defies all final solutions… there is not any particular solution of the problems going on into the society but whatever happening it's only solution.

'Final Solutions' touches us, and the bitter realities of our lives so closely.

So, throughout the play, we find example of problems and the playwright has not given any solution. Instead, he has let the audience to decide. Hence, the final solutions are, in real, no solutions to these communal problems. We people need to know what makes us hate others.

2.)Do you think Mahesh Dattani’s “The Final Solutions” makes any significant changes in society?

Basically the play,  'Final Solutions' written 1992 during the time when there were many social and religious riots were going on and purpose behind this or any play is to give some kind of message to the society and the people of the society. In this particular play talked about religious riots and mentality of two groups towards each other. The final Solutions opens with the image of five masked individuals dressed in black. Dattani has named

them as Mob - Chorus. Each member has two masks one is of Hindu and other of Muslim. They remain on the

top of a large crescent shaped ramp for most of the time in the play. Below the ramp is the home of Gandhi's, a

middle class family. The Gandhi family comprises of the elderly surivivor of

the partition of India and Pakistan, Hardika, who was earlier known as Daksha, her son Ramnik, her daughter in

law, Aruna and her grand-daughter Smita. On another level of the stage is Daksha's room in 1948. Thus the play

is into three spaces one, the mob, two, the Gandhi family and three, the memory of Dakhsha. At various points

of time these three separate worlds interact and overlap with each other.

The action of the play is set in motion by the recent destruction of the chariot and images of Hindu

dieties of a Rath Yatra while travelling through a Muslim neighbourhood of the city. Riots had broken out in

Amargaon and so curfew has been imposed in the city. The local Hindu and Muslim communitites, represnted

by the Mob/Chorus are blowing each other for the riots. The communal violence between these groups brings

back Hardika's memories of partiton and her life, life as a new bride in 31 March, 1948. Her memories are expressed

through the character of Daksha who is habituated to write diary and in present time she was reading this all and memorized everything. The Gandhi family is safe within their

home and although Smita is worried about the safety of her Muslim friend, Tasneem.

The family is having a peaceful evening but it is disrupted when Bobby and Javed two young Muslim

men arrive at their doorstep begging to take them inside. The Mob/Chorus with Hindu masks are after Bobby

and Javed and are threatening to kill them. Despite the objection of his mother Ramnik opens the door of his

house to protect the two. An interaction occurs between the Gandhis and Bobby and Javed throughout the

course of the night.

 The mob is constantly speaking, 

। ना हम मूर्ति तोड़ते हैं, ना हम मूर्ति पूजते है।

This is the inner voice of Smita. 

The play is about how Gandhi family judge to the Muslim basis of their past experience with another Muslim people. The Smita, quite young girl who believe that everyone has right to live a life. Ramnik who is able to accept people and their reality at the end when he came to know that whatever he had done is wrong and now he gave shop to the Javed. 

3)How are the beginning and the end of the movie?  Do you feel the effect of communal disturbance in the movie?

Paly is in flashback and present mode. Movie open with the character Daksha- she was writing a diary about the day is 31 March 1948. She was just confused about what to write and how to start , and then suddenly present situation came up in which crew of the people talking about current situation of religious riots. At that time we got an Idea about what happened and happening. Daksha and her granddaughter both had friend of Muslim community but their mentally was quite different about them. That's how the movie open.

At the end of the play Smita became friend of Javed and Bobby and they develop mutual understanding but the mother of Smita and Daksha don't. Ramnik also want to give Chance to them but Daksha and Aruna denied. Because Aruna is more religious and traditional and Daksha has bad experience with Muslims but at end we came to know about her experience which was only one sided because reality is something else. 

At the end Daksha came to know that the  shop which Ramnik run is actually not of Ramnik but it's of Javed and their family. And Ramnik got realisation of whatever he did during that time with Javed and their family was not good and now he got ready to handover shop to them. 

But play ends with no conclusion and solutions but we can interpret it like wherever is going on that's the final solution nobody can change it.

 4.)The movie comes up with many different symbols and colors. Write about any two symbols which caught your attention. What does it signify?

Movie open with the image of Hardika - she is reading dairy which symbolises the memory and experience of past and present. The room of the Hardika where she put the frame of her favourite singer which show her interest of music and love for it.

The movie talked about religious riots and crisis but they didn't use the particular name of the religion instead of they using colour to signify the religion. They show orange colour for Hindu religion, use of white colour for peace, and green colour for muslim religion.

So this is my understanding of the movie i hope my blog is useful for you:-)