Hello friends!
I am Bhavna Sosa from Department of English. We have done Movie screening of Final Solutotion by Mahesh Dattani. In this blog I am going to discuss some of the questions based on this particular movie screening.
Final Solution & Mahesh Dattani :
The play Final Solutions, written by Mahesh K. Dattani discusses the theme of communal riots, hatred and bitterness of Hindus and Muslims against each other. The plot is set in Gujarat (after the 2002 Riots). The communal hatred is at peak. It can be seen when we find Hindu mob chasing Javed and Bobby after knowing that they are Muslims.
Next, we also come to know other complex stories like love affair of Smita (who is a Hindu) and Bobby, Javed’s story of adopting extremist way, Ramanik’s grabbing of Javed’s land (after burning his shop) etc.We find that Ramanik blames Javed and his community and vice versa. But deep inside, Ramanik’s conscience does not allow him to live in peace because of the sin which he committed in the past.There is another issue which is discussed in the play. It is the orthodoxy which is inherited among the believers of every religion. They consider people from other communities as untouchables. Aruna’s denying Bobby and Javed from spending night at their home depicts this.
Mahesh Dattani is the genuine eyewitness of society and he composes just what he sees and not what ought to be. All his plays are loaded with issue and way which he watches. Every last play of Dattani raises some unmistakable issues concerning the different diseases defiling the solid tissues of the general public and in doing as such he is never observed pedantic in his disposition.
Dattani 's play Final Solutions is the genuine delegate play of his perceptions; it manages one of the consuming issues of mutual uproar. Dattani appears in the play how the seed of mob is sowed and some vested gatherings procure its organic product. He likewise talks about the part of lawmaker, police and open at the season of mutual mob. The average citizens who live respectively for quite a long time, right now of mob, all of a sudden stop to perceive each other and progress toward becoming adversary on the ground of religion. They never understand that they are failure, and lawmakers grab the chance to pick up control. The topic of Mahesh Dattani 's Final Solutions is social authority. Last Solutions breaks down how certain gatherings needed to endure on account of other dominant part gatherings.
Here we see that also Mahesh Dattani comes in the classification of scholars who champion the reason for genuine art– free from any hypothesis, general in taste and flavor, engaging all segments of society, never bound to any station, class and statement of faith.So, throughout the play, we find ample 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.
1.)What is the significance of the subtitle "The Final Solutions"?
The play Final Solutions, written by Mahesh K. Dattani discusses the theme of communal riots, hatred and bitterness of Hindus and Muslims against each other. The plot is set in Gujarat (after the 2002 Riots). The communal hatred is at peak. It can be seen when we find Hindu mob chasing Javed and Bobby after knowing that they are Muslims.
Next, we also come to know other complex stories like love affair of Smita (who is a Hindu) and Bobby, Javed’s story of adopting extremist way, Ramanik’s grabbing of Javed’s land (after burning his shop) etc.
We find that Ramanik blames Javed and his community and vice versa. But deep inside, Ramanik’s conscience does not allow him to live in peace because of the sin which he committed in the past.
There is another issue which is discussed in the play. It is the orthodoxy which is inherited among the believers of every religion. They consider people from other communities as untouchables. Aruna’s denying Bobby and Javed from spending night at their home depicts this.
So, throughout the play, we find ample 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?
Mahesh Dattani is a well-known English playwright, actor and director of India. He is the first playwright in English to be awarded the Sahitya Akademi award for Final Solutions in 1998.
The theme of the play Final Solutions is to highlight human weaknesses, selfishness, avarice and opportunism. Woven into the play are the issues of class and communities and the clashes between traditional and modern life style and value systems. The problem of minorities is not confined to only Hindus and Muslims, it eats the peace of any minority community among the majority.
"Final Solutions" has a powerful contemporary resonance and it addresses as issue of utmost concern to our society, i.e. the issue of communalism. The play presents different shades of the communalist attitude prevalent among Hindus and Muslims in its attempt to underline the stereotypes and clichés influencing the collective sensibility of one community against another. What distinguishes this work from other plays written on the subject is that it is neither sentimental in its appeal nor simplified in its approach.
3.)How are the beginning and the end of the movie? Do you feel the effect of communal disturbance in the movie?
The title makes audience members ask themselves, “Are there solutions to religious communalism?” (p 107)
The communal virus has always played a mischievous role in this pluralistic society. In the beginning of the play we see Hardika opening her diary after four decades and writing a dozen pages more. Her words, “Yes, things have not changed that much” (Collected plays I, p 167) sound so philosophical and true. Communal virus has made this sub-continent to suffer quite often. Ram Ahuja in his sociological work ‘Social problems in India’ defines Communalism as follows:
Communalism is an ideology which states that society is divided into religious communities whose interests differ and are, at times, even opposed to each other. The antagonism practiced by the people of one community against the people of other community and religion can be termed ‘communalism’.” (p 120) 4
The play Final Solution is not a mere ‘one more addition’ to the literary works that deal with communal conflicts, but an honest attempt at sensitizing the public about the dangers of prejudice and discrimination based on one’s race, ethnicity and religion. Discrimination, per se, need not be absolutely bad. But it can be truly fatal if it’s based on deadly prejudice. The playwright has given a brilliant title, which indicates that there are solutions to seemingly irresolvable problems. However, the playwright, neither taking an escapist route nor presuming to offer ‘the final solution’, confronts the burning issue with an amazing neutrality and courage of conviction. Therefore, the play cannot be studied merely as a clash between Hindus and Muslims represented by Ramnik Gandhi, his family members and Hindu Mob/chorus and Bobby, Javed and Muslim Mob/ Chorus on the stage.
4.)The movie comes up with many different symbols and colors. Write about any two symbols which caught your attention. What does it signify?
Diary :-
Diary is an important device in this drama. Diary is a record with entries arranged by date reporting on what has been done in the past. It actually preserves a person’s undercurrent of thoughts which often get deluged in later future and the person can connect his present to his past via this diary. Therefore, it is reservoir of a man’s experiences, feelings. It is, therefore, supreme media of one’s memoir. It captures moment, and tries to give vent to the historical and societal background as well. In this drama diary illumines the two different stages of a woman’s character whose identities are separated only by 40 years. The technique is indeed post-modern. Through the diary two generation of time past and time present is heavily compared.
This use of diary is a very important technique in revealing the psyche of the characters and at once presents the agitating moments of history finely. It also serves as the driving force behind revealing the mixing memory and desires of the characters. Memory is a kind of experience and it is associated with trauma studies. It is a privileged area through which nature of past events can be represented. The past events may be historical or public. In early editions of the Oxford English Dictionary the entry for trauma defines it as ‘a wound or external bodily injury in general’. Later the meaning has shifted from physical level to the psychological level. Here I shall discuss about the psychological impact of the communal tensions that has cropped up in course of time.
Thank you!..
(Words :1,528)
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