Mahesh Elkunchwar is an Marathi playwright, screenplay writer with more than 20 plays to his name, in addition to his theoretical writings, critical works, and his active work in India's Parallel Cinema as actor and screenwriter. Today along with Vijay Tendulkar, he is credited as one of the most influential and progressive playwrights not just in Marathi theatre, but also in Indian theatre. In 2014, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour in performing arts in India.
Considered a successor to Vijay Tendulkar, Elkunchwar's plays are written in Marathi. The plays have been subsequently translated into multiple Indian and Western languages (including English, French and German).