Nautanki is a form of Swang. It takes its name from the legend of a beautiful princess of the Punjab who fell in love with Phool Singh. The drama of her life when played and replayed before audiences became so popular that in course of time all plays performed on its pattern came to be called Nautanki.
The main difference between Nautanki and Swang is that the Swang is intended to arouse religious sentiments and is didactic by nature and the Nautanki is in essence a presentation of episodes depicting love and valour. Swangs are serious by nature. There is always a jester in the Nautanki who occasionally comes to the stage and makes the audience laugh. Sometimes he makes open digs at the unfair treatment which the rich mete out to the poor. Most of the tunes are adapted from popular folk tunes. Heer Ranjha, Sassi Punnu, Nala Damayanti and Sucha Singh Surma are some the most famous legends adapted for the Nautanki.