Marksman on job

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On the field or off it, Nana Patekar is a committed man

He is the essential star. Dedicated to his art, attentive to his fans and dismissive of trappings. Meet actor Nana Patekar. He is sarcastic with the frivolous, attentive to the interesting. "There's nothing like just for fun. You can define it any way you want, but there is nothing like that," he states.It is this commitment that has resulted in the successes like Krantiveer, Apaharan, Agni Sakshiand Khamoshi - The Musical.Currently, he is also sincerely pursuing a career in shooting. He recently represented Maharashtra in the 300m Big Bore Shooting Championship. He says he has been shooting for many years. In the village he always had an air gun. But could not afford the competition weapons. Now, he can afford his own weapon. With a personal best of 550/600 he aspires to be 590 to represent the country. Potential has often been compromised for saleability in Bollywood. Patekar agrees, "It is very difficult to get a star and actor together. The two are usually separate, only Hrithik Roshan fits the bill." But the scene is changing, he explains, "Global cinema has been made available. A whole new generation of viewers has entered." With a new outlook, people are ready to accept different and interesting movies.What are his criteria when choosing a movie? He asserts that he looks for the totality of a project. He needs to believe in the overall effect that the director is trying to create. From script to production, he needs to believe in it.An artist, he feels, must have the capacity both physically and mentally to make a role believable. It is for this reason he trained with the army for two years for his role in Prahaar.

All for adaptation

Patekar is often rumoured to ad lib through the script. But he clarifies, "I make a dialogue my own. Adaptation has to be there. It has to come from within, like how I am speaking to you right now." He has always been prudent in his career choices. Hattrickis his first appearance after the success of Taxi 9211. Why does he sign such few movies a year? "People sign movies for money," comes the immediate answer, "I have meagre needs, and few wants, I live in a village." He underscores his point, "My only competition is with myself." But he doesn't like to watch himself on screen. Prahaaris the only movie he has seen repeatedly, but that's because he was its director too. He is currently working on a Prakash Jha love story from the 1950s. He recently wrapped up Yatrawith Rekha, by Goutam Ghosh, which is the journey of a writer. A cricket fan himself, in Hattrickhe plays a cricket-hating doctor whose life is changed by the game. NANDINI NAIR




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