General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20264 min read

Natarang (नटरंग)

Natarang (नटरंग) is a 2010 Indian Marathi-language drama film directed by Ravi Jadhav, based on Anand Yadav's 1978 Marathi novel of the same name, about a village laborer who founds a Tamasha troupe and is forced to choose between his art and his social standing.¹ It was released on 1 January 2010, produced by Zee Talkies with Nikhil Sane, Amit Phalke, and Meghana Jadhav as producers, with music by the composer duo Ajay–Atul.² The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi and made Jadhav's debut as a feature director.³

Key fact	Detail
Release	1 January 2010, worldwide; world premiere at the Cinemax Multiplex in Andheri, Mumbai⁴
Source	Based on Natarang, a 1978 Marathi novel by Dr. Anand Yadav¹
Box office	₹120 million (₹12 crore) lifetime; ₹70 million (₹7 crore) in the first 21 days³
Awards	National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi (2010); National Film Award for Best Music Direction³

Spoilers

Plot

The film is set in a small Maharashtrian village in the 1970s. Guna (Gunvantrao Kagalkar), a poor village laborer and body-building wrestler, is passionate about Tamasha, a theatrical folk art form of Maharashtra, and his only dream is to play the role of a king just once in his life.⁵ After losing his job, he sets up his own theater company with his friend and mentor Pandoba.⁶

The company's survival depends on a nachya, a man who performs a woman's role on stage, a part nobody is willing to take because of the stigma attached to it. Guna takes the role himself, a decision that puts his life into turmoil.⁵^•⁴ As he becomes more successful as a performer, he faces resistance from society, his wife, and even his own father, and the film explores gender identity, societal norms, and the pursuit of one's passion.³ The National Film Awards synopsis describes it as a look into the life of an artist, his trials and tribulations, and a tale of hope, conviction, and triumph.⁵

Cast and characters

Sonalee Kulkarni as Nayna Kolhapurkarin, the lead dancer in Guna's troupe⁴
Vibhavari Deshpande as Dwaraka (Daarki) Kagalkar, Guna's wife⁴
Kishor Kadam as Pandoba, Guna's friend and mentor⁴
Priya Berde as Yamunabai, Nayna's mother and Pandoba's former love interest⁴
Amruta Khanvilkar in a special appearance in the lavani song "Wajle ki Bara"⁴

Kulkarni prepared for the role through a deliberate physical transformation. He has said that he gained nearly 16 kilograms to shoot the first part of the film, in which Guna is a well-built wrestler, then took a two-month break and lost about 18 kilograms in 42 days before shooting the second part, crediting his gym trainer Shailesh Parulekar.⁷

Music

The songs became extremely popular after release, and the film won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction.⁸^•³

Release and box office

Natarang premiered on 1 January 2010 at the Cinemax Multiplex in Andheri, Mumbai, which one source describes as the first time a Marathi film had a grand premiere; it was re-released on 22 January with English subtitles after popular demand.⁴ Lifetime collections are given as ₹120 million (₹12 crore; about US$1.5 million).⁴ The film is listed as a superhit, and as of 2017 one source described it as the highest-grossing Marathi film.⁸^•⁴

Reception and awards

The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi (the Rajat Kamal) and the National Film Award for Best Music Direction in 2010, along with Maharashtra State Film Awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Music Director, and Zee Gaurav Puraskar awards for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor (Atul Kulkarni).³^•⁶ At the Munich Film Festival 2010 it won an Honorable Mention for the One Future Prize for Ravi Jadhav, and Atul Kulkarni was nominated for the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actor.⁹ On IMDb the film holds a rating of 8.5/10 from about 2,500 votes.¹⁰

The film has remained a reference point in Marathi cinema more than a decade after release; a 2022 retrospective article credited its combination of Ajay–Atul's music, Guru Thakur's dialogues and lyrics, Zee's co-production, and the performances of Jadhav, Kulkarni, Kadam, and Sonalee Kulkarni for its success.¹¹

Context in Marathi cinema

Tamasha, the folk performance tradition the film depicts, combines lavani song and dance and has long been a distinct genre within Marathi cinema, used to articulate a rural cultural milieu and the anxieties of modernity.¹²

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Marathi films

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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