He starts speaking to imaginary audiences. He wears a torn, discarded royal cloak he found in a garbage heap. He uses a broom as a royal scepter. The local villagers and street children think he is a mad, harmless old man. They call him "Pagla Raja" (The Mad King).
He drinks the water, sits down in the lotus position (the pose of a king on his throne), and dies. In his death, he finally achieves what he could not in life: dignity, peace, and the silent applause of those who finally understood his tragedy. Natsamrat is not just about an old actor. It is a universal tragedy about the clash between art and commerce, between devotion and greed, between the parent who gives everything and the child who takes everything.
"He was not a madman, Saheb. He was an emperor who had lost his kingdom." natsamrat written by
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.
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 starts speaking to imaginary audiences
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.
He says softly: "The play is over. Applause... is for the audience to decide." The local villagers and street children think he
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.