Tara is a story of a girl who wants to twinkle and shine, just like her name. Dattani used
the themes like gender identity, discrimination, middle – class life and etc. Through these
themes, he has shown the agony of a girl in typical Indian society.
The play is the story of two conjoined twins – a boy (Chandan) and a girl (Tara) who is
surgically separated in unequal manner intended to favor the boy. The surgery was in favor of a
boy child – Chandan. However, Tara is unable to survive the disadvantagements in every way of
her life while growing up and eventually passes away. Racked with guilt over Tara’s death,
Chandan moved to London and changed his name to Dan. At London, he attempts to start a
new life, repressing the memories of her sister and his guilt.