Nautanki as Tamasha

Nautanki is more of Tamasha ,as in filmy now. Incorporation of the filmy factor , item songs and the Bollywood touch is now popular. Main target is “profit” thus by mass appeal and attracting  audience the groups or team who does “Nautanki” earn their money. General audiences cults for entertainment ; where they can enjoy get refreshments and laugh . thus the three elements required in to catch the audience mind and grab hold the crowd is “Entertainment” Entertainment” Entertainment”.

Hence keeping the “key ingredient ” intact Nautanki performers are adding up the masala of item songs , romantic gestures loud music and thus serving the platter with full enthusiasm and entertainment. Nautanki , therefore found new audiences even in metropolitan cities as a rick folk form with connections of Bollywood , in academic institutions as a subject of research into popular culture. In its home-ground , the towns and mofussil areas and the badlands of Bihar and uttar Pradesh. Nautanki is often reduced to filmy caricature .

                      The word Nautanki today has become a generic term for  “cheap entertainment“.Though the music played during the show of a nautanki is very much complex and is being learnt and mastered through practices of years.Few own meters like doha , behra-e-e-tabeel and chaubola. These complex music not only require learning but also the “listening and understanding with keen interest .”

The Hathras format of Nautanki is more slow paced and musical , while Kanpur has a more racy, Robustly dramatic and dialog heavy style that borrowed heavily from Parsi theater. The most fierce fan following in mid 1950 was grabbed by the travelling Nautankis.

Both the need of keeping the traditional culture of Nautanki alive and getting more new audiences for Nautanki,are required to help nautanki from extinction By adhering the originality and versatility of spectrum.

 sources: google, the Hindu