Satish Alekar

Satish Alekar
Prof. Alekar at IUCAA canteen 'Ballava' in Pune, India
Born (1949-01-30) 30 January 1949 (age 75)
Delhi, India
NationalityIndian
Other namesSatish Vasant Alekar
Occupation(s)playwright, stage actor, director, Teacher
Years active1971–present
Known forMarathi playwright, Teaching, Theatre Outreach in Maharashtra

Satish Vasant Alekar (born 30 January 1949[1]) is a Marathi playwright, actor, and theatre director. A founder member of the Theatre Academy of Pune, and most known for his plays Mahanirvan (1974), Mahapoor (1975), Atirekee (1990), Pidhijat (2003), Mickey ani Memsahib (1973), and Begum Barve (1979), all of which he also directed for the Academy. ‘’ Ek Divas Mathakade एकदिवस मठाकडे ‘’ (2012) and ‘’ ठकीशी संवाद Thakishi Samvad’’ (2024) these two recent plays were directed by Nipun Dharmadhikari and Anupam Barve respectively. Along with Mahesh Elkunchwar and Vijay Tendulkar he is considered among the most influential and progressive playwrights in modern Marathi and Indian theatre.[2][3][4]

He has also remained the head of Centre for Performing Arts, University of Pune (1996–2009), which he founded, after forgoing the Directorship of NSD[5] and previously remained an adjunct professor at various universities in US, at the Duke University, Durhum, NC (1994), Performance Studies, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University as a Fulbright Scholar (2003).[6][7] and Dept. Theatre and Film Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA (2005)

He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Playwriting (Marathi) in 1994, by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama. He received the Padma Shri award in January 2012.[8] After his retirement Satish Alekar was nominated by Savitribai Phule Pune University as Distinguished Professor on the campus from 2013 till September 2022. He is still on the visiting faculty of the SPPune University and the National School of Drama in Delhi. Recently he is also known for his screen acting in Marathi and Hindi feature films. He is seen in the character roles of films like Ventilator (2016).

  1. ^ Kartik Chandra Dutt: Who's who of Indian Writers, 1999: A-M
  2. ^ "Fringe takes centre stage: The importance of being Mahesh Elkunchwar and Satish Alekar in Marathi theatre". Mint. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  3. ^ Dharwadker, p. 413
  4. ^ Rubin, p. 156
  5. ^ Yarrow, p. 168
  6. ^ Kashyap, Siddhartha D. (8 February 2005). "Playwright Satish Alekar wins UoP award". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  7. ^ "On Fulbright in Freezing New York of Spring 2003", USIEF, 6 February 2010. Retrieved on 16 January 2015.
  8. ^ "Padma Awards". pib. 27 January 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.