Ghashiram Kotwāl Vijay Tendulkar Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar (6 January 1928 – 19 May 2008) was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi. He is best known for his plays Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe (1967), Ghāshirām Kotwāl (1972), and Sakhārām Binder (1972). Many of Tendulkar's plays derived inspiration from real-life incidents or social upheavals, which provides clear light on harsh realities. He has provided guidance to students studying "play writing" in US universities. For over five decades Tendulkar had been a highly influential dramatist and theatre personality in Mahārāshtra. Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar was born on 6 January 1928 in Girgaon, Mumbai, and Maharashtra, where his father held a clerical job and ran a small publishing business. The literary environment at home prompted young Vijay to take up writing.