Natrang - An Ode on Music and Art. Review on Natrang Movie

There are movies made with an eye on awards, there are others which are created to ensure pure commercial success. Very few movies actually manage to rise above the average twee and trimmings to become a footnote in film history’s pages and Natrang is definitely one of them. Doffing its hat to the best known tradition of Mahashtrian folk-dance, i.e., Tamasha, the movie flows like a gentle ballad conveying its visceral feelings and striking an intense rhythm with its audiences.

Natrang follows the life of Guna(Atul Kulkarni) who dwells in a somnolent Maharashtrian town set in the early 70s. Its inhabitants too live in a state of oblivion with little ambitions or dreams of their own, barring of course Guna who wants to make a living in music and arts. While others blench at the thought of this alternative career, Guna struggles with all his might to make his dream come true. He writes, enacts, and does all the legwork required to form a Tamasha troupe. Such is his passion that where others look for pecuniary gains, he visualizes drama, ghungroos, and dholki.

His efforts hit a patch of rocks each time and slews around violently but he knows that hurdles and obscurantist mindsets have to be ignored and endured. As he goes about adding people to the troupe, he realizes he is missing a vital member in the form a Natucni(female actress and dancer). His manager who is an experienced tamasha performer(Kishore Kadam) introduces him to Naina(Sonalee Kulkarni) who agrees to do the part. However, she puts forward the demand of a nachya(a female impostor) to be present on the stage with her.

Guna ends up donning the mantle of a nachya since no one else will touch this part by a bargepole. You then see the transformation of Guna from a well-built man to a feminine and graceful dancer. A bindi adorns his forehead, while a dab of pancake and kajal sits pretty on his facial features. The play is an instant hit and wins a bevy of awards and supari(amount paid in advance of a performance). However, Guna has to put up with the fuss and palaver about his feminine make-over. His family members distance themselves from him, while some of his troupe elements mistake him for a heterosexual. In reply to this, he stoically puts up an act of Mohini, a female form of Lord Krishna himself, whom he says has a bit of both male and female sides, just as his own.

The movie touches on all the taboos associated with Tamasha, and why it is looked upon despite being an oldest form of folk play. A scene where a silhouette of Naina forms on the screen as she explains to Guna why she cannot marry him shows the dark contours of this profession. The movie also espouses the frailties of human nature without fitting into an ideological straitjacket. For instance, the movie makes no bones about Guna’s sexual attraction for Naina though it partly justifies why he cannot love his wife. But the highest achievement of the movie is in its portrayal of its central character who struggles manfully to give a deft touch to his female role.

The music suits the mood and elements of the film, while the acting by all the characters is top notch. Atul Kulkarni had to gain/lose 15 kg within a few days for portraying the different stages of his character and this speaks volumes about his dedication to work. You get to see him grow in the movie as he struggles initially with his inchoate womanly expressions to magically cast himself in a feminine mould. His aching for acceptance from people is strongly conveyed by him and so is his refusal to believe in society’s norms.