|
|
the-south-asian.com March 2004 |
||||
|
March
2004 Wildlife Music Dance Environment Art Books
Books Between
Heaven and Hell
|
|
||||
|
NANA PATEKAR : THE ACTOR WITHIN by Avinash Kalla
Nana Patekar has finally graduated from a small budget actor to a bikau commodity, as he calls himself. Audiences are now able to perceive not only his low-key charisma, but also his potential as one of those rare performers who can carry the entire film on his shoulder as Ab Tak Chhappan is now showcasing… At 53 he is an unlikely superstar. He doesn't have the highbrow status of Amitabh Bachchan or a Shah Rukh Khan. When you think of male sex symbols, he's far down the list dominated by the likes of Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan and Saif Ali Khan. Though his characters have displayed a dry wit, his comic reputation pales next to that of Anupam Kher and Om Puri. But still, Nana Patekar is the most explosive actor Hindi cinema has ever seen. And at an age when most heroes start walking into their golden sunset, he has finally graduated from a small budget actor to one of the hottest commodities in Bollywood. Audiences are now able to perceive not only his low-key charisma, but his potential as one of those rare performers who can carry the entire film on their shoulder. His latest film Ab Tak Chhappan, is a hard hitting potboiler reportedly based on the story of a trigger-happy Mumbai cop, Daya Nayak. But Nana puts down all comparisons. " It isn’t merely a shoot at sight story. It has emotions and a human face as well. All the rumours about the film being based on the story of a hotheaded cop gunning down underworld goons is baseless. There’s plenty of action but nothing that stretches credibility." Nana is finally on the A-list of stars for whom quality scripts are specially scripted. As producer Ram Gopal Verma says, " No one else suited the character better than Nana." But isn’t he getting repetitive playing a cop for the second time in his last four appearances of which Verma made three? Has the film Ab Tak Chhappan been as challenging as Prahaar? Did he go in for some special preparation like he did for his directorial venture? "Prahaar was anytime more challenging! For this character I did not go out of the way to practice the mannerism or understand the psyche. There are some people in the police force with whom I am friendly and they helped me a lot in developing this character," says Nana. The fortunes of Ab Tak Chappan will decide Nana’s future plans. The only box office success that has come his way recently has been in Bhoot. But then, that wasn’t completely his movie. He got rave reviews for Shakti and Yashwant but the films could not create magic at the box office. Darna Mana Hai too was an average grosser. " In Shakti the alterations to the script did the damage. Last minute changes like introducing Shah Rukh were ridiculous and proved fatal. In Yashwant the audiences just couldn’t get any feel of the characters," says Nana bluntly. As far as Ab Tak Chhappan goes he is keeping his fingers crossed. " Let’s see what happens," is all that he’ll comment. And then a smile lights up his face. " If I flop as an actor I have other things to do," says the product of the prestigious J.J.School of Art. And he is alluding to his skill as a printer. " The printing press will provide me my bread and butter and prevent me from accepting ‘any idiotic roles that come my way'." Like some of his more memorable characters, Nana gets easily angry. But he has also an acutely developed sensitive side to his personality as well. He responds large-heartedly to social causes in his own inimitable way. The story goes that some years ago when he signed a movie with Rahul Rawail for a reported sum of Rs. 45 lakhs he made the hapless film-maker sign five cheques---Rs. 5 lakhs to himself and Rs. 10 lakhs each to Mother's Teressa's Sisters of Charity, Baba Amte's Ashram, Medha Patekar's Narmada Bachao Andolan and the chief minister's earthquake relief fund. When a reporter asked about this all that Nana is reported to have said, " I am not in films to get rich. I don't want to be cremated with a Mercedez Benz!" Though his eccentricities can sometimes outdo those of the late Raj Kumar, Nana Patekar has created a huge fan following for himself thanks to his tough-as-nails style of acting. Which explains why film-makers still don’t mind queuing up to get him to sign on the dotted line. ***** |
|||||
| Copyright © 2000 - 2004 [the-south-asian.com]. Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. | |||||
| Home | |||||
