Career
He joined the Maharashtra Natak Mandali in 1911, but after a year left for the Shri Bharat Natak Mandali. He entered the Kirloskar Natak Mandali in 1914 and helped establish the Balwant Sangit Natak Mandali with Dinanath Mangeshkar in 1918. His greatest performances came in R. G. Gadkari's plays, in Punyaprabhav (1916), Rajsanyas (1922), and especially as the villain Ghanashyam in Bhavbandn in 1919. He tried the movie industry in 1933 and acted as the tyrant Shakara in Vasantsena in 1942. However, he failed in this medium and returned to theatre. He joined Gangadharpant Londhe's Rajaram Sangit Mandali, worked with M. G. Rangnekar's Natyaniketan, and established his own company, Lalit Kala Kunj which gave P. L. Deshpande a break. Kolhatkar was a non-singing actor, who took roles in Hindi and Urdu as well. Jawaharlal Nehru once called him Bahurupi (i.e. 'many-formed'), which Kolhatkar used as the title for his autobiography. He also wrote character sketches of several playwrights titled Majhe natakkar, and a five-act play, Purnavatar in 1924. He was awardedReferences
1891 births 1959 deaths Male actors from Bombay State Indian male stage actors Male actors in Marathi theatre Marathi actors Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Marathi {{India-stage-actor-stub