NATARANG

Tamasha Returns To Marathi Screen

The heavy response to Atul Kulkarni starrer Natrang, the Marathi movie

has encouraged the Marahti movie industry to great lenghts. Not only this marks a great begining for year 2010, it also marks return of Tamasha, the traditional folk art of Maharashtra on silver screen.

Tamasha, a folk art of Maharashtra was backbone of the movies in the language at one time. Many hit movies were weaved around the themes of Tamasha. Prominent among them was Sangtye Ailka which catapulated the career of late Jayashri Gadkar. Pinjara, directed by V. Shantaram, the great filmmaker went on to become a movie epic and was later made in Hindi as well. The movie gave Indian film industry a great actor in the form of Dr. Shriram Lagoo. Then there were other Tamasha movies like Kela Ishara Jata Jata and Songyada, by legendary Dada Kondke. Directors like Anant Patil were known for their hold on the genre.

Almost three decades from 1960 to 1990, Tamasha formed the basis for movies in Marathi language. They showed intrigues of the trade, internal rivalry of main artists, relation between people associated in the art form, the decline of and cut throat competition in the industry...you name it. When the entire script was not dedicated to the Tamasha, there was at least one song in the form of Lavani. The last movie which was closely associated with Tamasha was EK Hota Vidushak which showed comedian Laxmikant Berde in an unusually serious role. It was released in the year 1997. Tamasha faded into oblivion in movies when the Marathi movie industry itself found itself in a battered position.

Atul Kukarni, a national award winning actor and famous for his roles in movies like Hey Ram, Page 3,Chandani Bar, Rang de Basanti etc. is donning yet another cap this time. Playing the main protagonist Guna in Natrang, Kulkarni has portrayed a wrestler landworker from rural Maharashtra who dreams to make it big in the Tamasha. The movie is based on a novel by Sahitya Academy winner writer Anand Yadav. With this film, Tamasha has returned to silver screen on Marathi.Natarang is story of Guna, a farm worker and an amature wrestler who dreams of playing the King in Tamasha
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