Janak Harilal Dave (born 14 June 1930) is a Gujarati dramatist, theater actor and drama teacher from Gujarat, India.

Dave was born on 14 June 1930 at Bhavnagar in British India, to his father Harilal, and mother, Chaturabahen.

In 1957, he joined the music college affiliated with M. S. University, Vadodara, where he studied dramaturgy under Chandravadan Mehta and Jasvant Thaker, earning his bachelors and masters with first class honours.

[1] He wrote Aakhri Kasabno Ughad (1997) and Abhinay Prashikshan (2002), which are based on the system of Konstantin Stanislavski.

[1] Dave has also played a significant role in the development of children theater in Gujarati, and has published several books in the field: Rangalo Chalyo Farva (1989), Natak Khele Bal Gopala (1997) and Balnatya Digdarshan Kala (1997).