Shanta Gokhale – Indian translator and theatre critic

Shanta Gokhale is a fictional writer, translator and theatre critic from Maharashtra. She is best known for her association with theatre and is a playwright too. She is also a journalist by profession. She writes in English and Marathi, and has published novels, stories and plays. The Engaged Observer (2018) is an anthology of her writings. She has also co-scripted a few Marathi and Hindi films, apart from writing plays. Noted actress and TV personality Renuka Shahane of Hum Apke Hain Kaun and Surabhi fame is her daughter. Bollywood villain Ashutosh Rana is her son-in-law.

Shanta Gokhale was born in Dahanu in Thane district in 1939. When her father, a journalist by profession joined a newspaper, Searchlight in 1941, the family shifted to Sivaji Park and got settled here. She was only 15 when she moved to England for higher studies. She graduated in English literature from Bristol University and returned to India at the age of 21. After completing her master’s degree, she studied Communications and Video Production.

Initially she wrote short stories and published as columns and later started writing novels in Marathi. She collectively published her writings as Rita Welinkar in Marathi in 1995. Tya Varshi (2008) was her second published book, followed by Crowfall, in 2013, its English translation. She has also translated several biography works. She is a journalist by profession, who formerly served as Arts Editor of The Times of India, Mumbai, and Sub-Editor of Femina. She has also worked as public relations executive at Glaxo Laboratories, and taught for a brief period at Elphinstone College, Mumbai.

Her theatre journey began during her academic years in London. After returning to India, she became a friend of Satyadev Dubey, which helped her to learn more about the world of theatre. She began with writing plays, and Avinash in 1988 for Dubey was the first one. From there on, she wrote many plays and also worked on autobiography works of Durga Khote and many other artists, as a translator.

Shanta Gokhale – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. She scripted Hindi film, Haathi Ka Anda (2002) apart from several documentaries, and also 2011 Marathi film, Ti Ani Itar.

2. She is a recipient of two national awards for scripting documentaries.

3. Two of her works have won state awards in literary criticism category including her famous work, Crowfall.

4. She played a brief role in Ardh Satya (1983), directed by Govind Nihalani, and also one Doordarshan series directed by Amol Palekar.

5. She has mentioned that writer Nissim Ezekiel encouraged and supported her in writing field.

6. She was first married to Lt. Cdr. Vijaykumar Shahane, with whom she had two kids including Renuka Shahane. Later she was briefly married to filmmaker Arun Khopkar, before got separated. Later she had a long-term relationship with writer Jerry Pinto.

7. In 2015 she was honoured by Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for her contributions towards performing arts.