Final Solution by Mahesh Dattani

Final Solution: Thinking Activity

This blog is a response to the thinking activity task assigned by Vaidehi Hariyani ma'am.  A few days back we had a movie screening of Mahesh Dattani's  Final Solution. In this blog, I am going to review that movie and discuss more on 'The Final Solution.

Mahesh Dattani is a director, actor, dramatist, and writer from India. 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 are among his plays.

Mahesh Dattani writes about our society and its surroundings. His creativity is a genuine and honest reflection of firsthand experience and understanding of the socio-cultural context. He puts up a mirror to show the audience reality. The drama Final Solutions intervenes critically in the post-independence age, which features a communally vitiated socio-political backdrop. In the drama, the main character, Daksha, also known as Hardika, combines past and present. The issue of communal tension is given historical depth through flashbacks portraying Hardika as a fifteen-year-old in 1948, and her experience in the aftermath of the partition returns to her mind at various times during the play. The drama delves into the issue of communalism.

Significance of the title  Final Solution:

Final Solution by Mahesh Dattani focuses on the subject of communal discord between Hindus and Muslims in India, particularly during the post-partition riots. The play opens with Daksha reciting excerpts from her diary. The setting indicates that it is the late 1940s. The hatred for Hindu Muslims is evident when we see a Hindu mob hunting Javed and Bobby after discovering that they are Muslims.

This play is not simply about religious animosity (mostly Hindu-Muslim), but Mahesh Dattani goes much deeper than the surface narrative. In the later play, we come to know other problems like the relationship between Smita and Bobby, Javed's story of becoming an extremist, Aruna's treatment of Javed and Bobby and many others. 

Religious Orthodoxy is also another issue which is discussed in the play. There is no denying that hatred and bigotry towards other religions and orthodoxies exist in the world. This hatred can manifest itself in many ways, from personal attacks and harassment to large-scale violence and even genocide. It is often perpetuated by ignorance and fear, as well as a sense of superiority or entitlement. In some cases, it may be justified by religious texts or ideologies that promote intolerance. Whatever the cause, this type of hatred is dangerous and destructive, leading to division, conflict, and suffering. Orthodoxy is inherited among believers of every religion, they consider people from other communities as untouchables.

Throughout the play, we find many examples of problems and the playwright has not given any solution. Instead, Dattani has left it to the audience to decide. It is up to us to decide if there is any solution to the communal problems or if no solution is the solution itself.

The title of this play also resembles that of German 'The Final Solution or Final Solution to the Jewish Question' which was a Nazi plan for the genocide of Jews during WWII. You may have come across the term HOLOCAUST which is a part of Final Solution. (know more from Holocaust Encyclopedia)

Does Mahesh Dattani’s Final Solution make any significant changes in society?

In Final Solutions, Dattani demonstrates how the seed of unrest is sown and how some vested interests enjoy the benefits. He also addresses the roles of politicians, police, and the general public during communal riots. During a riot, ordinary people who have lived together for years suddenly stop to recognise one another and become enemies on religious grounds. They have no idea they are losers, and politicians use the opportunity to acquire power. This unique community takes advantage of the possibility to earn. Dattani illustrates that the primary source of conflict between our country's two leading communities is their sense of superiority. Hindus always believe they are superior to Muslims, while Muslims believe they are superior to Hindus.

Mahesh Dattani's Final Solution does make significance in society but there are not many readers in the era of ott platforms so it is not that widespread among people. Let's say Final Solution is famous among most people but that also creates a problem that is so famous makes it a part of Pop Culture and most people wouldn't be able to comprehend what Mahesh Dattani wants to convey through this text and making a significant change in the society is, on the whole, another level.