Nautanki is a form of folk theatre based on contemporary burning social issues, enactment of folk tales, romantic stories, mythological stories and heroes. It is performed generally in front of a community audience of 100 to 15,000 people. The community generally provided the financial, logistical, and infrastructural support for conducting Nautanki programs which traditionally started late at night and went on for about 8 hours till the morning.
Nautanki is usually performed in open areas such as courtyards and open grounds called ‘maidans’ in Hindi. The music used in Nautanki is not of any particular classical form and varies according to the script. The ballads sung are of different patterns and forms of music. The basic instrument used in any form of Nautanki is nakkara, which energizes the performance. In every portion of Nautanki the nakkara is played successively. Other instruments used in Nautanki are sarangi, harmonium and dholak.

Before the advent of Bollywood, Nautanki used to be the main source of entertainment for the common man. The performers and audience were usually from lower strata of society. However, later on Nautanki became accepted by those belonging to higher classes as well. Over the years, Nautanki has faced a decline owing to stiff competition from other forms of entertainment: movies, radio etc. With the advent of electronic media nautanki artists like Mallika Begum, Gulab bai etc. have gone from being respected stalwarts to unknown entities. Although Nautanki gave birth to Bollywood, Bollywood has become its nemesis.