Ashadh Ka Ek Din (Hindi: आषाढ़ का एक दिन, One Day in Ashadh) is a Hindi play by Mohan Rakesh that debuted in 1958[1] and is considered the first Modern Hindi play.[2] The play received a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for best play in 1959 and has been staged by several prominent directors to critical acclaim.[1] A feature film based on the play was directed by Mani Kaul and released in 1971,[3] and went on to win Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie for the year.
Before it Hindi plays to date were either idealistic or didactic, devoid of connection with contemporary reality; above all their language remained the language of literature, which wasn't suitable for the stage, but this play changed it all. Mohan Rakesh went on to write two more plays, and left one unfinished at the time of his death in 1972, but he had shifted the landscape of Hindi theatre.[2]
- ^ a b Amaresh Datta (1987), The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature, Volume 1, Sahitya Academy, 2006, ISBN 978-81-260-1803-1,
... Ashadh ka ek din (Hindi), a well-known Hindi play by Mohan Rakesh. was first published in 1958. The title of the play comes from the opening lines of the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa's long narrative poem ...
- ^ a b Gabrielle H. Cody; Evert Sprinchorn (2007). The Columbia encyclopedia of modern drama, Volume 2. Columbia University Press. p. 1116. ISBN 978-0-231-14424-7.
- ^ John Wakeman (1987), World Film Directors: 1945-1985, H.W. Wilson, 1988, ISBN 9780824207571,
... His second film, Ashad ka ek din (A Monsoon Day, 1971), was based on a play by Mohan Rakesh, a well-known contemporary Hindi ...