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Mahesh Dattani’s ‘On a Muggy Night in Mumbai’: A

Critique on Heterosexuality

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www.rersearch-chronicler.com Research Chronicler ISSN-2347-503X
International Multidisciplinary Research journal

Research Chronicler
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Volume III Issue I: January – 2015

CONTENTS
Sr. No. Author Title of the Paper Download
1 Prakash Chandra Pradhan Political Context of V.S. Naipaul’s Early 3101PDF
Novels: Identity Crisis, Marginalization and
Cultural Predicament in The Mystic Masseur,
The Suffrage of Elvira and The Mimic Men
2 Dr. Shivaji Sargar & The Ecofeminist Approach in Alice Walker’s 3102PDF
Moushmi Thombare The colour Purple
3 Dr. Anuradha Re-Reading of Shange’s for colored girls 3103PDF
Nongmaithem who have considered suicide when the
rainbow is enuf
4 A. Anbuselvi Dysfunctional family and Marriages in Anne 3104PDF
Tyler’s Novel
5 Deepanjali Mishra Impact of Sociolinguistics in Technical 3105PDF
Education
6 Dr. Pooja Singh, Dr. Girl, Boy or Both: My Sexuality, My Choice 3106PDF
Archana Durgesh & Ms.
Tusharkana Majumdar
7 Vasanthi Vasireddy Akhila’s Escape to Kanyakumari – a Travel 3107PDF
in Search of ‘Self’
8 Dr. Laxman Babasaheb Social Consciousness in Early Dalit Short 3108PDF
Patil Stories
9 Sushree Sanghamitra Corporate Governance Codes in India- A 3109PDF
Badjena Critical Legal Analysis
10 Dr. Ashok D. Wagh The Role of Budgeting in Enhancing 3110PDF
Genuineness and Reliability in Financial
Administration in Colleges of Thane District
11 Sushila Vijaykumar Consciousness-Raising in Thirst 3111PDF
12 L.X. Polin Hazarika Influence of Society on Assamese Poetry 3112PDF
13 Dr. Archana Durgesh & Reading Women and Colonization: Revenge 3113PDF
Ajay Kumar Bajpai
14 Sachidananda Saikia Mahesh Dattani’s ‘On a Muggy Night in 3114PDF
Mumbai’: A Critique on Heterosexuality

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15 Nandini Sharma & Theatre and Phenomenology: Beckett’s 3115PDF
Dr. V. Premlata Waiting for Godot within the Apparatus of
Merleau Ponty’s Phenomenology of
Perception
16 Mr. Suresh D. Sutar Ted Hughes’ Crow’s First Lesson: An Eco- 3116PDF
critical Study
17 Goutam Karmakar A Study of Margaret Atwood and Her Poetic 3117PDF
World
18 Dr. Ambreen Safder Havoc of Western Culture on Indian 3118PDF
Kharbe Immigrants: A Study of Manju Kapur’s The
Immigrant
19 Dr. Raja Ram Singh Ethnic Identity of Bagri caste: A Sociological 3119PDF
Analysis

1 Hossein Sheikhzadeh Bāgādh, the Lizard - A Balochi Story 3120PDF

1 Dr. Chandra Shekhar On the 30th Anniversary of Bhopal Gas 3121PDF

Sharma Tragedy

Volume III Issue I: January 2015 Editor-In-Chief: Prof. K.N. Shelke

 www.rersearch-chronicler.com Research Chronicler ISSN-2347-503X
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Mahesh Dattani’s ‘On a Muggy Night in Mumbai’: A Critique on Heterosexuality

Sachidananda Saikia

Research Scholar, Dibrugarh University, (Assam) India

Abstract

Mahesh Dattani, one of the prominent playwrights of Indian writing in English occupies a
distinct place for bringing out real life problems into the stage. His „On a Muggy Night in
Mumbai‟ tackles with a serious issue of Indian society. The play enquires the causes of
hypocrisy, escapism and introvert nature of the queer people. It also raises a question
whether homosexuality is aberrant.
Key Words: Heterosexuality, queer culture, subjectivity.

1.1 Introduction: ideas. To achieve the objective analytical

method has been applied in the paper.
In Indian English drama Mahesh Dattani Besides, descriptive and introductory
occupies a very distinct and eminent place. methods have also been applied wherever
His presentation of problems from real life feels necessary.
situations is significant contribution to
Indian English drama. Among modern 1.3. The Analysis:
Indian playwrights, Dattani stands forth On a Muggy Night in Mumbai has been
for distinctness, artistic perception and well received in urban India despite its
immense dramatic spirit. He tackles some unconventional theme. The play is a
serious problems prevailing in urban India celebration of freedom in a sense, but it
in his plays. Specially, he gives voice to also points out that the freedom is
the problems and sufferings of the threatened the moment one steps out of the
marginalized people of our society. His privacy of home. Kamlesh, the protagonist
plays contain human pathos, passions, of the play, has shared an unsuccessful
conflict and appeal to human sentiment. relationship with his male friend Ed. The
Dattani plays a vital role to put Indian relationship comes to an end due to the
English drama to the level of world drama. traditional social beliefs on heterosexuality
The present study is an analytical account which makes Ed to switch to normal
of Dattani‟s On a Muggy Night in Mumbai heterosexual mode. With a broken heart
written in 1998 where he challenges the Kamlesh starts another relationship with
traditional norms of heterosexuality. Sharad, a very lively, intelligent and
1.2 Objective and Methodology of the confident person. Kamlesh and Sharad live
study: together for some time. But, unable to
forget Ed, Kamlesh breaks up his
The chief objective of the paper is to study relationship with Sharad. At the same
the way Dattani criticise the subjectivity time, following the advice of his
towards the queer people in India and psychiatrist Ed starts courting Kamlesh‟s
challenge the traditional heterosexual

Volume III Issue I: January 2015 (119) Editor-In-Chief: Prof. K.N. Shelke
 www.rersearch-chronicler.com Research Chronicler ISSN-2347-5021
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sister Kiran. They have fixed their The play ends with Kamlesh rediscovering
marriage and plan to meet Kiran‟s brother love with Sharad and humiliated Ed trying
Kamlesh before the wedding. Kamlesh to commit suicide. The social pressures are
who is still unable to get over his so overpowering that for a person like Ed
relationship with Ed decides to tell the it becomes impossible to live a normal life.
truth to Kiran. The play opens with the
It is also important to note that through the
scene when Kamlesh has invited some of
play Dattani tries to find out reason behind
his queer friends including Sharad to his
hypocrisy, escapism and introvert nature of
place. Among the people there are Sharad the queer people. John McRae, in the
and Deepali; Bunny Singh, a TV actor introduction to the play, writes, “It is a
who secretly enjoys gay relationship while play about how society creates patterns of
being happily married and presents a behaviour and how easy it is for
macho, heterosexual exterior; Ranjit who individuals to fall victim to the expectation
thinks that India is not a good place for
society creates. . . . For the fault is not just
queer people and so he has gone abroad. the characters‟ – it is everyone‟s, in a
All of them have found solutions to the society which not only condones but
societal oppression and opposition in encourages hypocrisy, which demands
different ways. In other words, they have deceit and negation, rather than allowing
employed different survival tactics: Sharad self-expression, responsibility and
and Deepali by being very upfront and dignity.” (Dattani: 45-46) The society does
honest about their identities, Bunny by not allow the queer people to live as what
exhibiting a normal married life and Ranjit they are and forces them to live like what
by escaping to foreign lands. On the other they are not. It creates self- alienation in
hand Ed consults a psychiatrist who their life. To prove themselves normal
advises him to adopt heterosexuality. people in front of society Bunny Singh and
Dattani uses this opportunity to criticise Ed get married while secretly carrying
mainstream psychoanalysis for being with their gay relationships. It put them
status-conscious. Ed‟s relationship with
down them in their own eyes by
the sister of Kamalesh provokes Kamalesh undermining their self-worth. Bunny Singh
to think Ed has changed and will keep his admits this when he says, “Just as the man
sister happy. But the queer friends of
whom my wife loves does not exist…The
Kamalesh force him to reveal Ed‟s secret
only people who know me – the real me –
to Kiran. While Kiran is shocked to learn are present here in this room.” (Dattani:
that both Kamlesh and Ed have been
102-103) Ed is also under the same social
deceiving her, Ed reveals another secret to
pressure and he decides to marry Kiran to
Kamlesh that his real motive behind
secretly get Kamlesh‟s love. Then there is
marrying Kiran is to remain close to
Ranjit who leaves India in order to lead a
Kamlesh and fulfil his homosexual desires life of his choice. There are others like
secretly. This is how the matrimonial Deepali and Sharad who are very honest
institution of heterosexual society is used about their sexuality and display it openly.
for purposes which are entirely opposite to
that institution. Throughout the play the heterosexual
world peeps in time and again and makes
its presence felt. The outside world which

Volume III Issue I: January 2015 (120) Editor-In-Chief: Prof. K.N. Shelke
 www.rersearch-chronicler.com Research Chronicler ISSN-2347-5021
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is alien to the insiders of the house keeps The ending of the play is not on the
on exerting its pressure. The wedding, the expected lines. Conventionally, it could
children chasing Bunny for an autograph have ended in Ed‟s suicide; but Ed is saved
and the neighbours finding out the and is shown to get up, although with
incriminating photograph of Kamlesh and some help. He starts walking towards the
Ed are all forces of the outside world. On people he earlier dreaded facing.
this relationship between the outside and
3.1 Conclusion:
the inside worlds in the play, John McRae
remarks, “The outside world‟s always Mahesh Dattani, though not very loudly,
pressing in – the heat, the sounds, the makes a plea for an atmosphere of
people pestering Bunny, the kids who find acceptance and acknowledgement for the
the photo. Very few dramatists are able to queer community. He also brings out the
give this sense of a whole society touching gay issues out of the closet into the open.
the participant in the on-stage drama– it The play stands on the side of gay
recalls Ibsen at his social best.” (Dattani: emancipation, as Chaudhuri notes, “The
45)The noisy outside world is a metaphor play, then, in a sense, is a plea for empathy
of domineering atmosphere in which a and sensitivity to India‟s “queer culture”.
queer person has to live. The presence of (Chaudhuri: 51) Dattani projects through
the opposing force in the form of the the play the problems faced by the Indian
outside world creates a discourse of urban queer community. He deals with a
opposition to homosexuality. By variety of queer sensibilities, including
restricting and suppressing, it shapes the men and women, showing how they react
subjectivity of queer people. The dominant to societal pressures. Dattani‟s play thus
discourse of heterosexuality suppresses the raises a host of rarely addressed issues and
homosexual culture. The cultural and by placing them into the forefront he
social codes within a society further challenges the traditional heterosexual
enhance subjectivity towards queerness. codes of the society.

Works Cited:

1. Chaudhuri, Asha Kuthari. Mahesh Dattani. New Delhi: Foundation Books, 2005.
Print.
2. Dattani, Mahesh. Collected Plays. Penguin Books, Noida: 2000. Print.
3. Reddy, K. Venkata, and R. K. Dhawan, Ed. Flowering of Indian Drama: Growth
and Development. New Delhi: Prestige Books, 2004. Print.

Volume III Issue I: January 2015 (121) Editor-In-Chief: Prof. K.N. Shelke
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