Saturday 5 February 2011

Natrang

2010 , by Ravi Jadhav

Guna a poor villager, loves theatre. When he and his friends lose their job their only option is to start a theatre of their own, to finally live doing their passion. Guna is a strong man, a body builder who is called a King, by his friends. He dreams about his royal role in his own drama, but realises that it is important to have a panzy character (an effeminate/ eunuch) which can draw more crowds for the show. After a lot of hesitation, he accepts the challenge. His theatre is a success, but he is treated as a Eunuch by everybody and his family and social life is affected. He gains recognition with his passion, but he lost a lot too.

For an Indian movie, this is a unique theme. And debutant director Ravi Jadhav has created an excellent script based on a novel and Natrang has turned out as an exceptional movie. Just thought director could have made it even better, but still. Some of the scenes where Guna is trained to be an Eunuch and the shot where he first walks, from the right side of the frame, like an Eunuch are all so beautiful.

Ever since I saw Chandni Bar, I have considered Atul Kulkarni as one of the best actors in India. He has got a life time roll here and he has excelled in it. His change from a strong body builder to a lean Eunuch is incredible, so are his varied emotions. This kind of transformation, like that of Robert De Nero in Raging Bull, is very new to Indian cinema. It is unpardonable that he was not credited with the National award.

This is an excellent Indian cinema from India.