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 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.

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 awarded Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1957, given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama.