The dance pavilion) is a 1963 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and written by Samudrala Sr.

Based on the Virata Parva of the Indian epic Mahabharata, Nartanasala focused on the trials of the Pandavas in the last year of their exile.

The Kauravas wished to reveal the Pandavas' real identities so that they would repeat another exile of 13 years in a cyclic fashion.

The issues faced by the Pandavas and their wife Draupadi at Matsya due to various factors, notably Virata's brother-in-law Kichaka form the rest of the story.

The majority of Nartanasala's portions were filmed in the sets erected at Vauhini and Bharani studios in Madras (now Chennai).

At the third Afro-Asian Film Festival held at Jakarta in 1964, Nartanasala received two awards: Best Male Actor (Ranga Rao) and Best Art Director (T. V. S. Sarma).

The Pandavas complete 12 years of forest life as a part of their 13-year exile stipulation of a rigged dice game they were defeated in by the Kauravas.

[a] As per the rule, in the 13th year, the Pandavas and their wife Draupadi have to assume different identities and live incognito until the upcoming Vijayadasami.

That would give a chance to the Kauravas to stop the Pandavas from attacking and gaining the reigns of the Kuru Kingdom for a longer period, and possibly forever.

In the past, Arjuna was felicitated by Indra, the king of deities for gaining the divine weapon, Pasupatastra, from Lord Siva through dedicated devotion.

The celestial dancer Urvasi falls in love with Arjuna, but he rejects her advances as he considered her a motherly figure.

The remaining Pandavas assume different identities based on their strengths — Dharma Raju (Yudhishthira) as the advisor and dice player Kankubhattu, Bhima as the cook Valabha, Nakula as horse groomsman Damagranthi, Sahadeva as cowherd Tantripala.

Before the war, Bruhannala asks the chariot to be directed to a Shami tree (prosopis cineraria) where the Pandavas' divine weapons are hidden.

[5] Rajyam and Rao felt that barring Keechaka Vadham (1916—1918)[b] and Vijayadasami (1937), no other Indian film dared to explore Virata Parva and found it a unique premise.

[4] Also, the belief that reading Virata Parva in Telugu-speaking lands would result in heavy rainfalls made the subject a culturally significant one.

Rama Rao was happy to play Arjuna, but was hesitant to take up Bruhannala's part; he felt that even a slight misstep would result in rejection by the audience.

[4] The majority of Nartanasala's portions were filmed in the sets erected at Vauhini and Bharani studios in Madras (now Chennai).

[4] For the Gograhana (retrieving the kidnapped cows) episode, five thousand animals were brought with the help of Gogineni Venkateswara Rao.

[5] Since Bruhannala was a dance teacher and Vijayalakshmi, who played Uttaraa, was a trained classical dancer, Rama Rao took two-hour long daily lessons from the film's choreographer Vempati Pedha Satyam for a month.

[5] For the scene where Sairandhri was tied to a pole and dragged on a cart, Kameswara Rao employed a body double.

Nartanasala's soundtrack, marketed by Saregama, consists of 21 tracks including songs, poems, and collection of selected dialogue from the film.

[17] M. L. Narasimham of The Hindu noted that Dakshinamurthi's "melodious" background score contributed largely to the film's success.

[19] Other successful songs of Nartanasala were "Dariki Raboku", "Sakhiya Vivarinchave", "Evarikosam Ee Mandahasam", and "Naravara O Kuruvara".

[23] At the 3rd Afro-Asian Film Festival held at Jakarta in 1964, Nartanasala received two awards: best male actor (Ranga Rao) and best art director (Sarma).

[24] In its 87th volume released in 1966, the now-defunct magazine The Illustrated Weekly of India noted Kanchanamala's cameo appearance, stating, "her delivery was as flawless as in bygone days and the years had not robbed her of charm".

[25] Reviewing Nartanasala, the University of Iowa stated that the film "unfolds in a near-operatic style reminiscent of many genres of Indian folk theatre".

[19] Nartanasala's success inspired filmmakers to explore the theme of a protagonist with a dark past living with a different identity in a place alien to him.

Soundarya was signed to play Draupadi with Srihari, Sarath Babu, Uday Kiran and Asin cast in supporting roles.

In an interview with The Times of India in August 2014, Balakrishna said that he could not imagine anyone other than Soundarya for the character and after her death, he called off the film with no intention to revive it.