Satish Alekar

Satish Vasant Alekar (born 30 January 1949 ) is a Marathi playwright, actor, and theatre director.

Alekar wrote and directed his first one-act play Jhulta Pool in 1969.

He became a part of a young circle that Jabbar Patel had started within the Progressive Dramatic Association.

He received his master's degree in biochemistry from University of Pune in 1972.

Alekar gained his first stage experience as an actor in a college play.

Impressed by his performance, director Bhalba Kelkar, who had set up the Progressive Dramatic Association, invited him to join it.

The senior members decided against its premiere in 1972, and Patel's group decided to produce it under the auspices of its own Theater Academy.

Alekar assisted Patel in the direction of Ghashiram Kotwal, and the group has since mounted over 35 plays by him and manage to establish its foothold in experimental Marathi theatre.

Alekar conceived of and implemented Playwrights Development Scheme and Regional Theater Group Development.

This group split with the parent body in 1973 and set up Theater Academy in Pune.

The split was over Vijay Tendulkar's play Ghashiram Kotwal.

Mahanirvan (1973) (The Dread Departure) finds black humour through Hindu death rites in Brahmins and its overt seriousness is today Alekar's best-known early work and has since been performed in Bengali, Hindi, Dongri, Konkani and Gujarati.

It was originally a one-act play and he had later expanded it at Patel's insistence.

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.

Along with Mahesh Elkunchwar and Vijay Tendulkar he is considered among the most influential and progressive playwrights in modern Marathi and Indian theatre.

The Ford Foundation for Theater Academy, Pune supported these programs during 1985–1994.

Alekar has collaborated in several international play translation projects.

Many of his plays are set around Pune Brahmin society, highlighting their narrow mindedness and subsequently he ventured into small-town politics with Doosra Samna (1989).

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 has also remained the head of Centre for Performing Arts, University of Pune (1996–2009), which he founded, after forgoing the Directorship of NSD 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).

During July 1996 – January 2009, Ahe worked as a professor and the head of the Center for Performing Arts(Lalit Kala Kendra) at University of Pune.

The Tisch School of Arts at New York University invited him in 2003 to teach a course on Indian Theatre.

and Dept. Theatre and Film Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA (2005)

The Department of Theater and Films Studies, University of Georgia invited him in 2005 to direct an English production of his play Begum Barve.

The Holy Cow Performing Arts Group in Edinburgh, Scotland performed an English version of Alekar's Micky And Memsahib on 27 and 28 August 2009 at Riddle's Court in Edinburgh Fringe Festival '09.

After obtaining his master's degree, Alekar worked as a research officer in biochemistry at the government-run B. J. Medical College, Pune.

He was working as the honorary director for a program supported by Ratan Tata Trust at the University of Pune during 2009–2011.

He received the Padma Shri award in January 2012.

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.

During the period of September 2013 – September 2022 he was nominated by University of Pune as distinguished professor on the campus.

* Plays directed by Satish Alekar for Theatre Academy, Pune.

Directed by Satish Alekar for Lalit Kala Kendra ललित कला केंद्र (Centre For Performing Arts, University of Pune) Directed for Theatre Academy, Pune

Alekar started writing at the age of 19 as a chemistry graduation, though most of his early work were short plays.

He is seen in the character roles of films like Ventilator (2016).

Alekar was born in Delhi, India.

He but grew up in Pune, Maharashtra in a Marathi Brahmin family.

He attended the Marathi medium school New English School, Ramanbag which was established by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

After high school, he attended Fergusson College for his undergraduate Bsc degree in sciences.