"अपने माँ बाप से कहना उन्होंने सोल्जर नहीं हिजड़े को पैदा किया हैं!"
"Go tell your parents they didn’t give birth to a soldier, they gave birth to a coward!" --
Can he be called a military officer's favourite star ?
Was Nana talking to all Indians - the Sickulars, bhakts of Dynasts, the instigated clubs of insects and mosquitoes -
those who are swayed so easily by vested power influencers oveseas
Was he talking to the right-wingers - who have made it a fashion to discredit all the achievements of the past. Was he talking about overwhelming middleclass - Hindus and the rest - who can be misled so easily in the name of caste, creed, NEET or 'unneat' (dirty) games in the corridors of power !!
Versatile Nana Patekar would be best remembered for his dialogue delivery. Prior to him - the likes of Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan dominated the silver screen's "knock out punch" department. But after him -- being angry did not only mean being young. He brought in the nationalist and also the rationalist. The script suited his image --- and the roles he played.
Patekar played an ordinary Indian - the confused middleclass, the struggler and idealist and yet who has to be comical and pragmatic too.
"Control Uday" - the two words in 'Welcome' was addressed to himself. It fitted the humour bill of the film; but was it not a middleclass and middle-aged protagonist.
Ask me - I have said "Control ND/Niren" several times in my life. I did say when tribal-non tribal divide in Shillong or Kohima left me anguished. We do so even today ... every married man (ane even my girl friends) would have said so a number of times.
Nana never played villains or heroes - in that sense. He played the grey character.
"Regiment mein hangama ho jaega Major Arya kya Biwi laya hae". -
This one is typical Fauzi style and so much given to realism. It happens in army camps - even in Pakistan and might have happened even with mortals in media organisations.
We did play certain roles with such comical elements.
Many years back, I told a female in PTI -- "You are also a victim of 'new batch syndrome'".
She enjoyed every bit of this and dubbed my comedy as "devastating".
He played people with a heart, less with a mind and with wounds in that heart.
If Amitabh's one-liners like - "I hate all rules and norms of this that my father adores" -- spoke about every son; if Deepti Naval remains a girl next door ---- Nana's punchlines ... were those common man's one-liners as though every word had a typical appeal of realism.
In Krantiveer he lambasts those who play games in the name of religion:
“Yeh Musalman ka khoon, yeh Hindu ka khoon… bata, ismein Musalman ka kaunsa, Hindu ka kaunsa, bata.”
The line cuts through the Hindu-Muslim divide by asking a simple question -- A query - politicians of all hues need to answer; but will always fail to.
Then came in Yeshwant (1997)
-- “Hum sab system ka hissa hain.”
or “Force kisi ke baap ki jagir nahi hai…
Ab Tak Chhappan (2004) -- The film about encounter killings in Mumbai.
On a few occasions, during my stint in Mumbai; I interacted with him. He would mistake my surname Dev as 'Dave' and would always say - "sanga na (please tell).
My good friend Jacinta D'Souza (now earning in dollars and pound in Australia or AUD) would be jealous at times; and would poke me with her left elbow !
'Prahaar' was a film close to his heart. He wrote and directed it. The final message in the film was a nation - deserves sacrifice and hence military training ought to be made compulsory for all citizens. Patriotism is a national duty.
In the film, my favourite scene is when an aging freedom fighter is confronted by his wayward unemployed son - who asks "you keep saying country... freedom; what did it give us. Even to get freedom fighter pension you have to give life certificate that you are alive".
In another family - the father tells his son: "Son, if you are joining the army just for adventure, those hobbies can be fulfilled here too—swimming, shooting, riding, flying... what isn't available here?"
****
Major V S Chavan (Nana himself) is depicted as a nightmare for every aspiring cadet, and he proves that the "honour" is well deserved.
He also has a sordid past; his mother was a prostitute. That was the last time Chavan saw her. A classical song that his mother usually sang for practice, seems to dominate his memories of his mother and his own childhood.
The unit resents Chavan's attitude, but this same attitude moulds them into a formidable unit. Peter hates Chavan's approach and decides to leave. Chavan tells him that if he flees his training, he will be considered a coward in the eyes of the people and his girlfriend. This motivates Peter, and as a result, he completes the training and tops his class. During a rescue operation, he loses the use of his legs and is honourably discharged from the Army.
One od his commandos (Diganto, or 2-by-2 - as training officer Nana calls him) loses his life in an operation.
Nana (Chavan) comes to attend his ex trainee Peter's wedding. He comes to know - Peter is killed by goondas. The cycle of urban violence and the rot in police system is well portrayed. This was the film -where Nana reportedly pulled up Madhuri Dixit for using make up.
'Parinda' was a landmark movie in his initial years.
Nana was initially supposed to play Jackie Shroff's part, Anil Kapoor's elder brother, in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 1989 film 'Parinda'. But Nana was dropped.
Naseeruddin Shah was supposed to play Anna (the part eventually played by Nana). And in that Nana Patekar left his mark. A unique performance in more ways than one.
Later in an interview Nana said : "I recently asked Anil, - you asked Vinod to drop me from the film? He said, ‘I thought Nana ko kyu star banau main (why should I make Nana the star)? It was obvious that you’d become a star had you played Jackie's part."
Nana had told Anil ::: "Didn’t I tell you that whatever role you give me, I'd become the star anyway. Nobody would look at you".
In 1992 film 'Angaar'; Nana plays Kader Khan's son.
Kader is Jahangir Khan, a powerful underworld mafia don whose character was inspired by the real-life Mumbai don Karim Lala.
Nana played his ruthless, estranged builder/gangster son, Majid Khan. While Jahangir Khan uses his criminal influence more selectively and detests his son's oppressive tactics, Majid (Nana Patekar) is far more violent and aggressive, leading a brutal campaign to clear local slums for real estate profits.
The friction between father and son is well portrayed.
In the 1986 film 'Ankush', Nana Patekar plays Ravindra Kelkar (Ravi), a night college student who confronts a massive cheating racket inside an examination hall.
** Criticism of Nana Patekar’s acting does centres on a tendency toward theatrical intensity, repetitive mannerisms, and a high-pitched, explosive vocal delivery.
These were his strengths.
But over a career spanning five decades, reviewers occasionally pointed out that his physical gestures—such as sharp head movements, intense staring, and rapid-fire speech patterns also turned his weakness.
His voice was widely praised but detractors argued that mainstream also struggled to utilize him in soft-spoken spaces.
But 'Khamoshi' was a wonderful film.
• Agni Sakshi (1996) – Directed by Partho Ghosh, was a psychological thriller where Nana Patekar played an abusive, obsessive husband and Manisha Koirala portrayed his resilient wife. Nana plays a male chauvinist to the core. He beats his wife and then applies balm too saying that is his duty as a husband.
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