The trailer for Eetha arrived on Friday, October 30, and it puts Shraddha Kapoor’s transformation front and centre. The film tells the story of Vithabai Narayangaonkar, the legendary Lavani and Tamasha performer, and the trailer’s first full look suggests this is Shraddha’s most demanding role yet. Here are five things to know.
- Shraddha Kapoor plays a real folk legend. Shraddha steps into the life of Vithabai Bhau Mang Narayangaonkar, one of Maharashtra’s most celebrated Tamasha and Lavani performers, whose journey from hardship to the folk stage forms the emotional core of the film. The trailer leans hard on that transformation — traditional costumes, expressive dance sequences and a screen presence far removed from her commercial roles in the Stree franchise and Aashiqui 2. For an actor known for mainstream hits, playing a woman who forged her identity in a demanding performance tradition is a deliberate change of gear.
- Randeep Hooda’s Merchant arrived just in time. A day before the trailer, the makers unveiled Randeep Hooda’s first look as Merchant, introducing him with the line that he has come to rule Eetha’s heart. Hooda, who also plays Anna Sawant Merchant, is positioned as central to Vithabai’s personal journey rather than a background presence. His turbaned, intense avatar became an instant talking point, and the trailer now shows how that relationship shapes the film’s emotional arc.
- The trailer shows the cost behind the applause. Rather than presenting folk theatre as pure entertainment, the trailer hints at the sacrifices, determination and struggle behind performers’ lives. Tamasha — the blend of music, dance, storytelling and drama at the heart of Maharashtra’s folk tradition — is shown as a demanding world, not a backdrop. That focus on what the art cost the artist, as much as what it gave her, is what the film seems determined to honour.
- The team behind it knows this terrain. Eetha is directed by Laxman Utekar, who previously made Mimi, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke and Chhaava, and produced by Dinesh Vijan, Utekar and Karishma Sharma under Maddock Films and Kathputli Creations. Kshitij Patwardhan wrote the screenplay with Utekar, Ajay-Atul composed the music, and Vaibhavi Merchant handled choreography. The supporting cast includes Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Nana Patekar, Anant Joshi, Siddharth Jadhav, Ulka Gupta and Akshara Singh.
- It reaches cinemas on December 4, after a strategic move. Eetha was originally slated for August 28 before being pushed to December 4, 2026, to avoid a clash with Yash’s Toxic. The trailer closes with its rallying line — eyes full of storm, feet full of tempest, the pride of Tamasha — and the wait is now just over a month. Whether Shraddha’s transformation carries a full-length performance is the question the trailer leaves hanging, and December 4 is when audiences get the answer.
