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The real thing

Mrudula Rajyadhyaksha

Nana Patekar. Click for bigger pic!

Nana Patekar's interview naturally has to be different. Nana, being Nana, doesn't take much care for journos; he doesn't tell his 'boy' to look after us, to offer us chairs or tea. He vanishes into the make-up van, asking us to give him some time. But then, he doesn't keep us waiting infinitely like some others. The moment he came out dressed in black jeans and pretty downmarket polyster shirt, he excuses himself and goes straight to the location.

The fight director tells him about the scene to be picturised on him and Gulshan Grover. Nana considers the plan for some time before getting into the action as if trying to convince himself. After a few rehearsals, when final touches, like light-reading etc are being done, he comes over to us.

"Puchiye kya puchana hai," he says in his gravely voice. When somebody asks if they could sit, he shakes his head. So we stand with him in the slushy spot, in the midst of a constant traffic of unit members.

We ask him about the film he's working on now, Gang. He knows the drill.

"It is a story of four friends who are unemployed and do not know what to do with their lives. So they are picking pockets, indulging in goondagardi. But they are nice at heart," he says, with the classic Nana shake of the head and associated smile.

He says he is happy that finally Mazhar Khan's dream will come true as it is the last day of the shooting and very soon the film will be released too.

Then we ask him about Mehul Kumar's Kohram wherein he works with the Big B. How was it working with Bachchan, considering both of them have a reputation of being angry young men?

A poster from Kohram. Click for bigger pic!

"Make that angry old men," he interrupts, smiling wryly.

"I have been watching his films since college days. He was my favourite hero. I felt really good working with him. He really is a nice person -- and very professional.

"But what about his eccentric ways?"

"People told me lots of stories about him. He is very focussed on the sets. He tolerates no nonsense etc but when I worked with him, it was a wonderful experience." Well, what did you expect -- a cliched answer to an equally cliched question.

What about his own infamous eccentricity?

"If you are serious about your work, honest and straight-forward, you are labelled eccentric. If you are dedicated and involved then it is even easier," he says, finally showing some spirit.

That could have been an allusion to that incident during the making of Pranlal Mehta's Yugpurush. After a few interruptions, Nana announced that if he caught another phone ringing on the sets he'd throw them it away.

Most of those who saw his expression then took his warning at face value. But one of the producers thought he was automatically exempt and ignored it.

Nana Patekar with Manisha Koirala in Khamoshi. Click for bigger pic!

When the cellphone rang, Nana, till then lost in the nuances of his character, came alive, snatched the offending thing away and flung it in a corner.

Put it down to sincerity or over-enthusiasm, it ensured there was another buyer floating free in the mobile phone market.

What about his flops? Have films likeMustafa, Yugpurush made him a little worried about his saleability? He shakes head vigorously.

"You shouldn't think about the fate of the films. The film might succeed or fail but your performance must be good. You should work hard for every film." He lights up a cigarette as he speaks.

But shouldn't he try a variety of roles rather than risk getting typecast?

"I tried, I tried. My role was very good and different in Khamoshi. Even the characters I played in Mustafa and Yugpurush were different. It takes time for the audience to accept you in a different role.

"Today, if Govinda does a serious role people are going to take time to accept him in the new image. If I was to do a Khamoshi kind of role again, or if Khamoshi is released again, it wouldn't be such a shock to the people."

To do him justice, his role in Kohram is quite different from all that he's done before. What does he have to say about a role that has him in a pony-tail dancing with Tabu.

Click for bigger pic!

"The character is such," he shrugs, and leaves it there.

But what does he have to say about his dancing skills? He smiles and nods.

"Don't even ask. I can't dance but I have tried it in Kohram. That guy, that fat guy, (he gestures to indicate rotundity)... I forgot his name. More loudly, and in Marathi, he asks his make-up man, who provides the answer.

"Yeah, Ganesh... He made me dance in the film. I have danced a lot in Kohram."

Anything interesting happened during the shoot? He smiles again.

"Naach naachke halat kharab ho gayi, ghar aake bahut Iodex lagaya," he jokes.

What does he have to say about film stars like him visiting injured soldiers in the wake of Kargil. Was that a publicity stunt?

Nettled, he returns, "How can you say that? I have met the army people even during Prahar. I have done two years of research on their lives, their lifestyles. For me, it is nothing new.

Click for bigger pic!

"The media followed us everywhere; we didn't tell them to cover it as an event or something. No, you are absolutely wrong. How can you ridicule our sentiments, our affection for them by calling it a publicity stunt? It was a very genuine gesture on our parts."

Probably he is not aware that press releases regarding his visit were sent to leading publications but then Nana has proved his humanitarian instincts before too.

During the Bombay riots, when most film stars packed away their Rambo images, he went out without any security detail in his wake and spoke to the common people. There were no journalists roaming around him then.

We ask him about the time he spent with our soldiers. But he hasn't still forgiven the nasty question.

"No, I don't want to talk about it. I don't think it is right," he says looking a wee bit disturbed.

Then, perhaps looking for a way out he looks up and realises that the crew is waiting for him.

We thank him and he smiles again in response. It's the most natural and honest smile we've ever seen in Bollywood.