Natsamrat Written By May 2026

Ganpatrao looks at the cup. He looks at his royal cloak. He looks at the faces of the few villagers gathered. He then takes his final bow.

He says softly: "The play is over. Applause... is for the audience to decide."

But in his madness, Ganpatrao is reenacting King Lear . He is living the role he only pretended to play. He shouts Lear’s lines to the wind: "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!" But then, he switches to Marathi adaptations, mixing his own agony with the poetry of Shakespeare and Kalidasa. He no longer acts the tragedy; he is the tragedy. One day, his son Nana, feeling a twinge of societal shame (not genuine love), comes to the temple to take his father back. He brings a lawyer and a witness to prove he is a good son. natsamrat written by

When Nana approaches, Ganpatrao is in the middle of a "performance." He doesn't recognize Nana as his son. Instead, he sees him as a villain in a play.

He and Aaji end up on the streets, then in a dilapidated, broken-down temple on the outskirts of the city—a far cry from the royal courts of his theatrical prime. The trauma breaks Aaji. She falls ill and dies. Ganpatrao is left completely alone. In his grief and rage, his mind begins to fracture. He no longer knows where reality ends and the stage begins. Ganpatrao looks at the cup

Playwright: Vasant Kanetkar (Original Marathi, 1970s) Protagonist: Ganpatrao Ramchandra Belwalkar (also known as "Natsamrat" or "Appa") Part 1: The Curtain Rises on Glory The story begins at the pinnacle of a man’s life. Ganpatrao Belwalkar is a legendary stage actor, revered across Maharashtra as the Natsamrat —the Emperor of Actors. Having dedicated his entire life to the theater, he specialized in Shakespearean tragedies adapted into Marathi, particularly King Lear .

After decades of ruling the stage, he decides to retire. He has wealth, a loyal wife (Mrs. Belwalkar, simply known as Aaji or Grandmother), a daughter (Kusum), and a son (Nana). Believing in the goodness of his blood, Ganpatrao makes a fatal decision: he signs over all his property, his bungalow, and his savings to his son Nana and his greedy daughter-in-law (Kaki). He then takes his final bow

Vasant Kanetkar wrote this play as a direct response to the modern world’s lack of gratitude. The role of Ganpatrao is considered the "Hamlet of Marathi theatre"—the most difficult and prestigious role for any actor. In the 2016 Hindi film adaptation, played the role so powerfully that a new generation wept for the Emperor of Actors.