Mahesh Dattani is a Mumbai-based playwright, stage director, screenwriter and filmmaker. His published works include Final Solutions and Other Plays, Tara, two volumes of Collected Plays published by Penguin India and most recently Me and My Plays. In 1998, Mahesh Dattani won the prestigious Central Sahitya Akademi Award, the highest award for a literary work in the country. Mahesh is the first playwright writing in English to receive this award. His plays are produced in all the major cities of India and in UK, US, Australia, Sri Lanka, and Dubai. His plays have been translated and performed in Hindi, Gujarati, Nepali, Swedish, German, Japanese and Kannada.

Most notably, his play Dance Like a Man, directed by Lillete Dubey, received 850 performances and continues to tour. His film Mango Souffle, which he wrote and directed was shown in several international festivals, including the London Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and was adjudged Best Motion Picture at the Barcelona Film Festival 2003. His film Morning Raga had its international premiere at the Cairo Film Festival and he won the award for Best Artistic Contribution. The script has been archived by The Academy of Motion Pictures, USA.

@dattani23