Nana Patekar is counted among those actors of Hindi cinema who have created a distinct identity with their strong acting. Nana, who came out of theatre, played such characters in films, which are remembered even today. But do you know that if her close friend and veteran actress Smita Patil had not forced her to enter films, perhaps Nana’s film journey would have been different. Nana himself had revealed this in an old interview.
Nana Patekar did not want to leave theater
Nana Patekar was inclined towards theater from the beginning. He was quite satisfied acting on stage and had no special desire to go into films. He felt that theater was the place where he could express his art in the best way. This was the reason why even when film offers started coming his way, he was not very excited about it. Nana had shared this interesting anecdote related to his film journey in Rajat Sharma’s show ‘Aap Ki Adalat’. He had told that the credit for coming into films largely goes to Smita Patil. Smita constantly asked him to work in films, while Nana was happy in the world of theatre.
Smita Patil forcefully sent me to films
Nana had told that Smita Patil had almost forced her to come into films. According to her, he used to do theater and was happy in that world, but Smita wanted Nana to show his talent in films also. He took Nana’s name to producer Ravi Chopra and the way was prepared for him to get work in the film ‘Aaj Ki Awaaz’. According to Nana, Smita Patil had recognized his talent before him. She understood that Nana’s acting ability should not be limited to theater only. For this reason, he continuously inspired Nana to move towards films. Nana himself had said that if Smita had not asked him to enter films, perhaps he would have continued his career in theatre. He had also shared the incident of body burning in Parinda.
Smita’s advice became the turning point in Nana’s career.
‘Aaj Ki Awaaz’ became an important link in Nana Patekar’s initial film journey. After this he did not look back and gradually made his own place in Hindi cinema. His acting in films like ‘Parinda’, ‘Krantiveer’, ‘Agnisakshi’, ‘Ab Tak Chhappan’, ‘Welcome’ and ‘Natsamrat’ gave him a distinct identity. Nana’s specialty was that he did not limit himself to any one type of character. From serious roles to villains and comedy, he played different types of characters in his own style. But he himself considered the role of Smita Patil very important in the beginning of his brilliant film journey.
Today both the stars are no more in this world
Both Nana Patekar and Smita Patil are no more in this world. Smita Patil died in 1986 at the age of just 31. Nana Patekar breathed his last on October 8 at the age of 75. He died after cardiac arrest in Goa. With his demise, Indian cinema lost an actor who impressed the audience with his acting for nearly five decades. After the demise of Nana, this old story related to Smita Patil is once again in discussion. The actress who once convinced him to enter films, the same decision later gave Indian cinema an artist whose voice, dialogue delivery and intensity of acting will be remembered for a long time.
Nana himself believed in Smita’s great contribution.
Smita was not just a co-star or friend for Nana Patekar. She was one of the few people who trusted his acting, who inspired Nana to move beyond theater to the big screen. This old statement of Nana shows that sometimes the faith of just one right person is enough to change the direction of an artist’s career. If Smita Patil had not inspired Nana to enter films at that time, perhaps Hindi cinema would never have got artists like Anna of ‘Parinda’, Pratap of ‘Krantiveer’ and Uday Shetty of ‘Welcome’. The memories of both will now live forever through their films and those stories.
Also read: The film which made Nana Patekar a superstar, got its Hollywood remake, Marvel star Vincent D’Onofrio played the lead role.
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SK Sharma is a content writer who writes on news, entertainment, and lifestyle topics. She has over four years of experience and is known for conveying information in simple and clear language.
