Societal Pressure and the Crisis of Self-Acceptance in Mahesh Dattani’s On a Muggy Night in Mumbai
Keywords:
Queer Identity, Social Pressure, Heteronormativity, Homosexuality, Self-Acceptance, Identity Crisis, Marginalization, Mahesh Dattani, Indian English Drama, LGBTQ+ Representation.Abstract
The paper examines how Mahesh Dattani’s On a Muggy Night in Mumbai portrays the struggles of homosexual individuals living within a heteronormative Indian society. The play reveals that societal expectations, family honour, and fear of social exclusion force queer individuals to conceal their identities. Through characters such as Ed, Kamlesh, Sharad, Bunny, and Deepali, Dattani exposes the psychological conflict between personal desire and social conformity. The study argues that the inability of these characters to fully accept themselves is not a personal weakness but the result of continuous social pressure and marginalization.
References
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Mukherjee, Tutun. “Mahesh Dattani and the Drama of the Marginalized.” Indian English Drama: Critical Perspectives, Pencraft International, 2013, pp. 142–156.
Chakraborty, Kaustav. “Queer Identity and Social Stigma in Mahesh Dattani’s On a Muggy Night in Mumbai.” The Context: An International Journal of Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies, vol. 9, no. 2, 2022, pp. 45–54.
Reddy, G. Prasad. “Homosexuality and Identity Crisis in Mahesh Dattani’s On a Muggy Night in Mumbai.” International Journal of English Language, Literature and Humanities, vol. 4, no. 5, 2016, pp. 210–218.
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