ATUL KULKARNI and NATARANG Rule the Roost - Interview & Film Review

Better late than never, the Hindi Cinema Blog has finally managed to watch the unmissable and highly acclaimed 'Natarang', Ravi Jadhav's filmic anthem to a man's passion for art and to standing for what one believes in, based on a novel by Dr. Anand Yadav. A story that has the capability of stirring audiences throughout the world, this is unquestionably one of the best Indian films we have come across this 2010!

'Natarang' is set in the 1970s and is the story of Guna, a village wrestler with a love for Maharashtrian popular theatre (tamasha) who decides to create his own village troupe when he and his friends are suddenly hit by unemployment. Strong and manly, Guna dreams of writing a play in which he will portray a king but things take a different turn as he becomes confronted with the choice of playing a 'nachya' (effeminate character), without which he would have to say goodbye to any possibility of making his artistic dreams come true. The film about his ravaging passion for popular theatre begins as a lighthearted story and progressively evolves towards the dramatic destiny of its main character as the plot thickens. 'Natarang' touches such sensitive subjects as gender roles and expectations in 1970s Maharashtra, the fear ofsurpassing oneself, art politics, family ties and society's prejudices. READ MORE >>