Narthanasala

Nartanasala (1963) Brief Review -

A fine restoration of one of the Mahabharata's many chapters with one of the greatest performances ever by NTR. It's heartening to see how Telugu cinema, even back in the 1960s, tapped into our cultural and historical treasures to create such grand cinematic epics. This entire three-hour film is adapted from a single chapter of the Mahabharata-imagine how many great epics could be made from the legendary Hindu epic. The film's title, Nartanasala is inspired by the dance motif associated with the protagonist, Arjuna, who transforms into a transgender dancer named Brihannala. However, the title is somewhat deceptive-it isn't entirely centered around dance. That said, many of you might already know the story, but here's a brief nonetheless. Nartanasala portrays the 13th and final year of the Pandavas' exile. During this year, they must conceal their identities and assume different roles. Arjuna becomes Brihannala, Draupadi becomes Sairandhri, Bhima becomes Valala, Nakula becomes Damagranthi, Sahadeva becomes Tantripala, and Yudhishthira becomes Kankubhattu. They reside incognito in the Matsya Kingdom under King Virata's rule. The film follows their experiences during this pivotal year, culminating in the symbolic day of Vijayadashami when their exile ends. The production is truly grand, with a sweeping canvas that enhances the viewing experience. It's a musical too-all the songs are situational, lavish, and elegant. The lyrics, as far as I could gather through subtitles, are poetic and meaningful. Kamalakara Kameswara Rao's direction is rock-solid, with many scenes becoming iconic benchmarks in Indian filmmaking. Even after six decades, I could feel that-that's it's timeless value. When it comes to performances, the entire cast shines, but NTR is simply outstanding. Portraying Arjuna is itself a golden opportunity for any actor-but getting to embody Brihannala is like placing a diamond on that golden ring. NTR made the role unforgettable-not just for his era, but for generations to come.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

I have seen this movie on my girl friend telling me that its a fantastic one, but it turnout to be not so fantastic.

The problem with this one is, it has lot of poems, which sometimes bores you, and may put you to sleep. What I felt was only Savitri has done justice to her character (Draupadi and Malini) no one else. Even NTR has done a great job acting like Arjuna but failed as eunuch called Brihannala.

Fight sequences were awful, hurried climax does add as a big negative point.

Movie really started on a promising note with a song in Indra Lookam, where Urvashi tries to impress Arjuna, but these songs might eventually give you headache. Sometimes the dialog delivery of the artists were so fast that I could not get to understand their names, I had hard time understanding the name of "Keechaka" the role played by SV Ranga Rao.

I don't know, if this was the best thing that can be done in those days, but this movie made me sleep eventually and I kept on looking at the timer to know when the movie ends like I do in HR classes of mine.

NTR shows his versatility yet again - this time as Bruhannala. SV Ranga Rao excelled in such a negative role as Keechaka. Savitri looks her best and performs beyond compare. Storyline is from the classic 'Virataparvam'. But all the Pandavas approach Virta rajah with very similar story and need to stay for 1 year and yet does not cause any recognition on anyones part. Quite dismaying, almost incredulous. Granted it is a story from the past, the least they could do is come up with more plausible dialogs to express it. I never found the need for Savitri to say that she is married to 5 Gandharvas - isn't that a dead give away. Why does Bheema have to say he used to cook in Hastinapuram. But I will give excellent points for the cast. Relangi provides endless humor - as usual. Vijayalakshmi as Uttara was beautiful - all her dances show her true skill.

Possibly the best movie I ever saw, Narthanasala (Virata Parvam or the Book of Virata from the Mahabharatha) tells the story of the Pandavas final year of exile.

Having lost the game of dice against their Kaurava cousins, the five Pandava brothers and their wife Draupadi must spend 13 years in exile - 12 in vanvas (life in the forest) and the thirteenth in agnatvas (open but incognito living.) They enter the court of King Virata under various disguises - the two prominent are Arjuna as Bruhannala, the eunuch dance teacher, and Draupadi as Sairandhri serving Queen Sudeshnadevi.

The story follows the predictable triumph of the Pandavas over the amorous Keechaka who seeks Draupadi's hand, and over the Kauravas as they attempt to out them to force a new cycle of exile. The storytelling is very operatic with several songs, and the characters breaking into recitative to emphasize emotion.

The cast is a who's who ensemble of the Telugu industry of the time. SV Ranga Rao (as Keechaka) is absolutely brilliant. NT Rama Rao (as Arjuna and Bruhannala) is awesome. L Vijayalakshmi's (Uttara) dances are absolutely stunning, easily the reason for my repeat viewing. Other prominent actors include Savithri (Draupadi), Relangi (Uttarakumara), Kantarao (Sri Krishna), and Sobhanbabu (Abhimanyu - the one jarring note.)

Go rent/buy the DVD and watch it now.

These type of movies should be sent for Oscars. WHAT A MOVIE! Despite being in Telugu language, since Telugu being a classical Lang. and close to Sanskrit anyone who knows Hindi can understand this. Music is great, acting is even better. It casts arguably the greatest Indian actor, NTR, and the great lady savithri. Doing roles like them are just so difficult, and this movie portrays the great Indian epic with utmost ease.

Songs are a great addition to this, salalitha raga sudharasa saram by DR. Balamuralikrishna standing out among other great ones. The amazing stanzas, the picturization and the whole screenplay are brilliant. Worth watching for anyone who understands Telugu, or even a bit of Hindi or Tamil will be enough.