Happy Birthday Nana Patekar: As soon as Nana Patekar’s name comes, the picture of a carefree actor starts appearing in our mind. Born on 1 January 1951, Nana has turned 73 years old today. Well, there are not just one or two but hundreds of interesting things about him. Well, you must be aware of all such things, so today we will touch upon those aspects of Nana which are not discussed much.
Nana Patekar’s first film was ‘Gaman’, which was released in the year 1978. After this, whatever films came to Nana, whether they were hits or flops, his impression remained different in them.
Nana was never in competition with anyone
Nana is undoubtedly an amazing actor, but he has never been in competition with any actor or star. His star power is such that he never needed stardom. It may be possible that in the eyes of many viewers he may be an actor with an image like a character actor, but it is not so. He has worked in all types of mainstream and offbeat cinema, from lead to supporting actor, and his work has been liked every time. Therefore, instead of talking about films like ‘Tiranga’ and ‘Krantiveer’, it is important to talk about their recent campaign to make a place among the audience.
Nana never needed a comeback
The industry is such a place where if you disappear from sight or your films flop, then suppose you may need a comeback. And even big stardom actors like Amitabh, Shahrukh, Aamir and Sunny Deol have had to follow this rule. Be it great actors like Govinda or superstars like Rajesh Khanna, there are many such actors in Bollywood who have failed to become hits despite making comebacks several times. But this was never the case with Nana Patekar. There came a time when it seemed that there was no place left for a great artist like Nana Patekar in the film industry.
The character of Mukhiya in films like ‘Shakti’ and ‘Aanch’ was wonderful. But the new generation was beginning to feel that maybe Nana Patekar had become typecast and started playing the same type of roles. In such a situation, when Nana appeared as a corrupt MLA of Bihar in Prakash Jha’s film ‘Apharan’, he completely changed that image. This was really refreshing. This incident is from the year 2005-06. When Nana appeared in different types of characters in many films one after the other. His comic style in ‘Bluffmaster’ and ‘Taxi No. 9211’ won such applause that people started longing to see him in similar roles. Perhaps this was the reason why he was cast again in multi-starrer films like ‘Welcome’. And within no time, Uday Bhai’s character became meme material of a different level.
Why is ‘Welcome’ special for Nana?
In a film which has actors with excellent comic timing like Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Anil Kapoor, creating a character of a different level among them is a huge task for any actor. Despite the dialogues between ‘Uday Bhai’ and ‘Majnu’ being very common, the energy of both the actors Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar made them of a different level. After this, many comic roles came to Nana and people gave him equal love in this new innings also.
During this time, the kind of films for which Nana is known also kept coming. Like 56 more disciples so far. In this second innings, Nana also released films like ‘Raajneeti’ and ‘The Attacks of 26/11’. In which Nana’s theater artist was seen again.
Prakash Jha’s two films showed Nana’s new look
We have already talked about Prakash Jha’s ‘kidnapping’ and how it changed Nana’s complexion. Now let’s talk about his and Nana’s second film ‘Raajneeti’. In this film, Nana’s character was sometimes influenced by Shakuni and sometimes by Shri Krishna. Whatever screen time Nana got among actors like Ranbir, Ajay, Manoj Bajpayee, whatever Nana did was different. Something so different that you just keep waiting for them to appear on the screen.
Nana has been awarded 3 National Awards and many Filmfare Awards for his excellent acting. Nana has also been embroiled in controversies many times. But, in the meantime, he has continued his journey just like any newly arrived actor. Every time he comes on screen, no matter who is in front of him, he looks the same. This is what makes Nana truly the ‘Nana’ of the film industry.
