Aacharya Atre

Acharya (Pralhad Keshev) Atre (1898-1969) was an Indian playwright and novelist in the Marathi language.

Born Pralhad Keshav Atre in Saswad near Pune, Maharashtra, he started his career as a teacher and is also known for his novel experiments in this field. However, he is most famous for his contribution to Marathi literature and social life. He was a successful playwright even during the downtime of Marathi theatre and his comedies like ‘Sashtang Namaskar’, ‘Moruchi Maushi’ (1947) and social plays like ‘To mee Navhech’ and ‘Gharabaher’ were all hits. He was also a successful poet, the collection of poems ‘Zhenduchi Phule’ receiving wide acclaim. He has written a lot about himself and his life. 'Mee Kasa Jhalo’ and the 5 volumes of his autobiography 'Karheche Paani’ form a major part of his total writings. Atre’s short-stories, novels, autobiographies and column writings are considered to be valuable contributions to Marathi literature.

Atre was also a successful journalist and movie director. One of his movies, ‘Shyamchi Aai’ (1953), received the national award for the best film of the year.