EXCLUSIVE | Mahesh Dattani on 'The Monk and the Warrior': 'Why must a warrior not feel and a monk not desire?'

What happens when history, mythology and queerness collide in a space that refuses to follow any one narrative? With The Monk and the Warrior, Mahesh Dattani crafts a story that is at once intimate and expansive, reimagining the idea of love, identity and heroism through the unlikely meeting of a conqueror and a monk. In an exclusive interview with Firstpost’s Zinia Bandyopadhyay, the playwright unpacks the thought behind this deeply layered work.

At first glance, the premise itself is enough to intrigue. A love story between Alexander the Great and a monk is not something one encounters every day. But for Dattani, the fascination lies precisely in that contrast.

“The idea actually came from the director, Jonathan,” Dattani says. “He had been working on this theme and told me about this recorded moment in history where Alexander met monks, likely Jain monks, described as ‘Gymnosophists’ or naked saints. I just loved the premise. Two completely different worlds, different objectives, different visions. And the idea that it could be a love story.”

More from Entertainment

That contrast is what drives the play. Not binaries, but overlaps. “There is a monk in the warrior, and a warrior in the monk,” he explains. “They are not binaries anymore.”

Reimagining Alexander beyond conquest

In Dattani’s world, Alexander is not “the Great.” He is simply Alexander. “I have removed the ‘great’,” he says with a quiet smile. “I see him as a very sad man, someone trapped in the prescribed role of a warrior.”

The play questions the glorification of conquest and heroism, something that feels particularly relevant today. “We tend to identify him with the lands he conquered and glorify that. But that is exactly what the play interrogates. If we stopped placing conquerors on pedestals, perhaps we would not have half the problems we do in the world.”

For Dattani, both the monk and the warrior are roles shaped by expectation. And once you move beyond those roles, what emerges is something far more human.

Queerness without the gaze

Dattani’s work has long engaged with queer identity, from On a Muggy Night in Mumbai in 1995 to now. But The Monk and the Warrior takes a markedly different approach. “It is not about the societal gaze this time,” he says. “In fact, that gaze is absent.” Instead, the conflict is internal.

“With Alexander, it is about being trapped in the role of a warrior and seeing love as a way out. For the monk, it is about experiencing his queer feelings before he can move towards liberation. He cannot bypass that experience.”

The idea of a queer monk, much like a queer warrior, challenges deeply ingrained assumptions. “We have prescriptions for both,” Dattani explains. “We think a warrior must embody a certain masculinity, and a monk must be devoid of all desire. The play addresses these very ideas.”

Myth, folklore, and a surreal journey

The narrative itself is anything but linear. “It jumps all over the place,” Dattani admits. “But that is intentional.”

Drawing from mythology, folklore, and the structure of the hero’s journey, the play creates a surreal landscape where stories guide the characters. “There is a wealth of stories, many of them overtly queer, others metaphorically so. What if the characters moved through these stories, either witnessing or becoming part of them? It becomes a journey shaped by narrative itself.”

The result is a theatrical experience that is as much about storytelling as it is about transformation.

A personal journey into spirituality

Writing the play also marked a shift for Dattani himself. “Spirituality became a powerful part of the process,” he says, referring to his engagement with Buddhist sutras, especially the Heart Sutra.

“One line stayed with me. ‘Form is emptiness and emptiness is form.’ It sounds simple, but the more you reflect on it, the more complex it becomes.”

He elaborates with an example. “A cup is form. But its purpose lies in the emptiness it holds. Without that emptiness, the cup has no meaning. And yet, without the form, the emptiness cannot exist in the same way. They are not binaries.”

That philosophy seeps into the play’s core, dissolving rigid definitions of identity, desire, and purpose.

Theatre in the age of reels

In a time when attention spans are shrinking and content is consumed in seconds, Dattani remains aware of the changing dynamics of audience engagement. “The aesthetic of time has changed,” he says. “Earlier, a play could comfortably run for two and a half hours. Today, 90 minutes is considered a full experience.”

But rather than seeing this as a limitation, he views it as an opportunity. “Inviting someone to spend 90 minutes in a theatre is, in itself, a powerful proposition today. It moves us away from being consumers of art to appreciators of it.”

Dattani notes that today, the audience has become more "consumers of art" rather than "appreciators" and he feels the act of watching theatre is as important as the play itself. “Even if you do not like what you see, the experience of sitting with others and engaging with a live performance is enriching. It pulls you away from passive consumption.”

An experience, not a takeaway

When asked what audiences might miss if they skip The Monk and the Warrior, Dattani resists the idea of a definitive answer. “You cannot quantify what someone takes away from art,” he says. “But you can speak of its quality.” What the play offers, he suggests, is reflection.

“It allows you to experience a love story through a different lens. Especially for a heteronormative audience, that itself can be transformative.”

And perhaps that is where the play finds its quiet power. Not in delivering answers, but in unsettling what we think we already know.

Directed by Jonathan Taylor, the production of The Monk and the Warrior boasts cast members from across the globe. It includes Sachin Ravindran, Prethora, Caitlin George, Manjari K, Juan Diego Bonilla, and Harsh Tharad. Eero Hämeenniemi, a Finnish composer, has composed the music for the play. Additionally, Tomás Carrasco Gubernatis, a composer and Chilean woodwind player, along with Prasoon Bhargava, an Indian musician and actor, will be performing live. It will be staged at Mumbai’s Experimental Theatre from April 2 to 5.