Nana Patekar was a cinematic titan and champion of the common man
The final curtain came down on the 75-year existence of the celebrated stage and film actor, Nana Patekar, at an unearthly hour, at his Goa residence. Born Vishwanath Patekar, he was known by his nickname – Nana – which was in a way instrumental in creating proximity between him and his large fan following. A ‘Marathi Manoos’ by birth, he faced hard times during childhood and adolescence. Leading a life of penury, he somehow managed to seek admission at the Sir J. J. Institute of Applied Art, Mumbai. It was the Dean of the institute who helped him by providing odd jobs to earn an income while studying. Nana even painted street posters with social messages and worked on zebra crossings on the roads of Mumbai, earning a meagre Rs 15 per crossing. The subsequent meteoric rise of the actor therefore shines bright among the achievements of his contemporaries.
Nana, who after completing his education managed to find a regular job as a commercial artist, surprisingly did not think twice before leaving it to pursue theatre. And the risk was taken when he had no formal training from an imposing institution like say, the National School of Drama. Nana was however fortunate to find a competent guide like Vijaya Mehta, who not only honed his performing skills, but also converted a rough, uncut diamond into a polished and sparkling gemstone. Mehta later wrote in her Marathi autobiography, ‘Zimma’ – “The diversity and flight of the performances by Nana in Marathi plays, as ‘Sattar’, the pimp in ‘Hamidabaichi Kothi’; middle-aged insurance agent ‘Digu’ in ‘Mahasagar’; and ‘Gulabrao’, the politician in ‘Purush’ would astonish the audiences to no end.”
The next logical step for Nana was acting in Marathi films. ‘Bhalu’ (1980) in which he played villain and Jabbar Patel’s cult political thriller, ‘Sinhasan’ were some of his early Marathi movies that hit the silver screen. Soon noted Hindi filmmaker, B R Chopra cast him in his ‘Aaj Ki Awaaz’ (1984), a remake of the American vigilante film, ‘Death wish’. This was followed by N. Chandra’s surprise hit, ‘Ankush’ (1986). Then there was no looking back for him.
If Amitabh Bachchan was ‘Angry Young Man’ of the 1970s, Nana brought alive the image during the 1990s. If Bachchan used his eyes to convey his suppressed anger, then Nana took support of his voice to express the rage. Soon yelling became the trademark of his acting. Nana displayed this typical trait in his performances, to the point where it started becoming jarring. Fortunately, while working with seasoned directors like Gulzar (‘Hu Tu Tu’) and Amol Palekar (‘Thodasa Roomani Ho Jaayen’) it was a treat to watch him perform.
Nana, before taking up his only directorial venture, ‘Prahaar’ (1991) joined the Territorial Army as a captain and underwent a three-month training to prepare for the movie. Later, during the Kargil War in 1999, he served in the Maratha Light Infantry regiment as a major. He retired from the Territorial Army in 2013 as a lieutenant colonel.
In 2015, Nana set up Naam Foundation along with actor, Makarand Anaspure, which was dedicated to the betterment of farmers in the drought-prone areas of Marathwada and Vidarbha in Maharashtra. He adopted a simple lifestyle and chose to donate all his earnings to the Foundation.
Living a contented life, Nana, a nature lover, bought a house in Goa and often visited the state. He also had some close friends in Goa. His end, however, came under grievous circumstances. History will remember Nana as a maverick performer, as much as a selfless humanitarian.
