Nana Patekar | |
|---|---|
 Patekar in 2025 | |
| Born | Vishwanath Patekar (1951-01-01)1 January 1951 (age 74) Murud-Janjira,Bombay State, India |
| Alma mater | Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Arts |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Organization | Naam Foundation |
| Works | Full list |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Padma Shri (2013) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  India |
| Branch |  Indian Army |
| Years of service | 1990– 2013 |
| Rank |  Honorary Lieutenant Colonel |
| Unit |  Territorial Army Maratha Light Infantry |
| Battles / wars | 1999 Kargil War |
Vishwanath Patekar (born 1 January 1951), better known asNana Patekar, is an Indian actor, film maker, mainly working inHindi andMarathi cinema. Widely regarded as one of the finest and most influential actors inIndian Cinema, Patekar is recipient of threeNational Film Awards, fourFilmfare Awards, twoMaharashtra State Film Awards andFilmfare Awards Marathi respectively for his acting performances. He was bestowed with thePadma Shri award in 2013 for his contribution in cinema and arts.
After making his acting debut in Bollywood with the 1978 dramaGaman, Patekar acted in a fewMarathi films and some Bollywood films. After starring in theAcademy Award-nominatedSalaam Bombay in 1988, he won theNational Film Award for Best Supporting Actor and theFilmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the crime dramaParinda (1989). He then starred his directorial debut,Prahaar: The Final Attack (1991). Patekar subsequently starred in and received critical acclaim for his performance in several commercially successful films of the 1990s, includingRaju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992);Angaar (1992), for which he won theFilmfare Award for Best Villain;Tirangaa (1993);Krantiveer (1994), for which he won theNational Film Award for Best Actor and theFilmfare Award for Best Actor. Further acclaim came his way forAgni Sakshi (1996), for which he won his second National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor; andKhamoshi: The Musical (1996).
During the early 2000s, he received praise for his performances inShakti: The Power (2002),Ab Tak Chhappan (2004) andApaharan (2005); the latter of which earned him his second Filmfare Award for Best Villain, andTaxi No. 9211 (2006). Patekar received widespread praise for playing a good-hearted gangster Uday Shetty in the comedyWelcome (2007) and its sequelWelcome Back (2015), and a politician in the political thrillerRaajneeti (2010). In 2016, he starred in the critically and commercially successful Marathi filmNatsamrat; in which he portrayed a retired stage actor. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Marathi) for his performance in the film.[1]
Nana Patekar was born Vishwanath Patekar, into a Marathi family in Murud-Janjira, in the present-day Raigad District,Maharashtra.[2][3] He is an alumnus of theSir J.J. Institute of Applied Art,Mumbai.[4][5]
Patekar made his debut withGaman (1978),Maficha Sakshidar (Marathi 1986), after which he did several small roles inMarathi cinema. He portrayedNathuram Godse in the British television seriesLord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy (1986). He also played notable roles inAaj Ki Awaz (1984),Ankush (1986),Pratighaat (1987),Andha Yudh (1987),Mohre (1987),Trishagni (1988),Awam (1987) andSagar Sangam (1988). His performance inAndha Yudh earned him his first nomination for theFilmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.
During this period, his performance inMira Nair'sSalaam Bombay! (1988) earned him high praise. He also received widespread critical acclaim for his portrayal of a crime lord in the crime dramaParinda (1989), which earned him his firstNational Film Award for Best Supporting Actor and his first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He then turned director for his filmPrahaar: The Final Attack (1991), co-starringMadhuri Dixit, for which he underwent training for his role as anIndian Army officer. His role inAngaar (1992) earned him his firstFilmfare Award for Best Villain. He co-starred alongsideShah Rukh Khan,Juhi Chawla andAmrita Singh in the romantic comedyRaju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992) and alongside industry veteranRaaj Kumar inTirangaa (1993), both of which earned him two consecutive nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He played a truant, gambling son inKrantiveer (1994), for which he won theNational Film Award for Best Actor, theFilmfare Award for Best Actor and theScreen Award for Best Actor. Patekar portrayed a ghost in the children's filmAbhay (1994), post which he co-starred withRishi Kapoor inHum Dono (1995). He played a sadist husband inAgni Sakshi (1996), which earned him his second National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor, a deaf father toManisha Koirala inKhamoshi: The Musical (1996), both of which earned him two nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor, a gangster inGhulam-E-Mustafa (1997), an honest, but maverick cop inYeshwant (1997) and a schizophrenic inWajood (1998). He co-starred withAmitabh Bachchan inKohram (1999), where he played an undercover Indian Army intelligence officer chasing Bachchan's incognito. His other notable films of this decade wereYugpurush (1998) andHu Tu Tu (1999).
He starred withAditya Pancholi as theCBI director in the crime dramaTarkieb (2000). After a hiatus of a year he returned to acting inShakti: The Power (2002) in which he played an extremely violent father, which earned him his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Villain. InAb Tak Chhappan (2004), he played a police officer who is an encounter specialist. His performance inApaharan (2005) earned him his second Filmfare Award for Best Villain as well as theScreen Award for Best Villain. He played a taxi driver inTaxi No. 9211 (2006).
The year 2007 was a highly successful year for Patekar. He starred in several comic roles, one being his highly praised performance inWelcome (2007), which saw him portray a powerful crime lord in Mumbai who once desired to be an actor in films. He later acted in Sangeeth Sivan's filmEk (2009).
He started the 2010s portraying a school headmaster inPaathshaala (2010). He also acted inPrakash Jha's multi-starrer political dramaRaajneeti (2010), which earned him his fifth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.
In 2011, he starred in the critically acclaimedShagird and the Marathi filmDeool. His next film wasRam Gopal Verma'sThe Attacks of 26/11 (2013) based on the events of the2008 Mumbai Attacks in which he played Joint Commissioner of PoliceRakesh Maria. In 2014, he starred in another Marathi filmDr. Prakash Baba Amte – The Real Hero. In 2015, he made two sequels reprising his roles inAb Tak Chhappan 2, sequel ofAb Tak Chhappan andWelcome Back, the sequel ofWelcome, pairing withAnil Kapoor again. While Ab Tak Chhappan 2 was not commercially successful, Welcome Back was a success.
In 2016, he starred as Ganpatrao "Appa" Belwalkar in the film adaptation of the dramaNatsamrat which was a major critically and commercial success. He earned twoFilmfare Awards for Best Actor – Marathi forDr. Prakash Baba Amte – The Real Hero andNatsamrat. He did the voice acting for Shere Khan in the Hindi version ofThe Jungle Book (2016). He played a supporting role in the Tamil language action filmKaala (2018), starringRajnikanth. It was moderately successful at thebox office.[6]
After appearing in low budget films likeIt's My Life (2020) andTadka (2022), in 2023, Patekar headlinedVivek Agnihotri directedThe Vaccine War, which tells about the development ofCovaxin during theCOVID-19 pandemic in India. The film was a commercial and critical failure but Patekar's performance received high praise as Renuka Vyavahare ofThe Times of India wrote "Nana Patekar is outstanding but the film reduces itself to being a government mouthpiece parading as a medical drama."[7]
Nana Patekar played a supporting role in the ensemble comedy thrillerHousefull 5. The film opened to poor reception, with Lachmi Deb Roy ofFirstpost, publishing a negative review, but praising Patekar's "jolly good" role as one of the film's few redeeming qualities.[8]
Patekar did some playback singing in the filmsYeshwant (1997),Wajood (1998) andAanch (2003).
Patekar married Neelkanti at age 27. His father died of a heart attack when Nana was 28 and later Patekar also lost his first son. Patekar was a chain smoker until he quit at the age of 56. In an interview, he said that his father loved plays and encouraged him to watch them. This is how he developed his love for acting.Vijaya Mehta directed his first play.[2] Patekar lives inAndheri, Mumbai in 1BHK apartment.
Patekar joined theTerritorial Army as a Captain in 1988. He underwent a three-year training to prepare for the moviePrahaar, and worked with GeneralV. K. Singh, who had the rank of Lt. Colonel at that time and had a cameo appearance. During theKargil War in 1999, Patekar also lent his services in theMaratha Light Infantry regiment at the rank of Major. He retired from the Territorial Army in 2013 as Lieutenant Colonel.
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In 2008,Tanushree Dutta accused Patekar ofsexually harassing her on the sets of the movieHorn 'Ok' Pleassss. In March 2008, she filed a complaint with 'CINTAA' (Cine & TV Artists Association) but no action was taken then. This allegation was repeated in an interview in 2013[9] and again made in 2018.[10][11] In late 2018, CINTAA apologized to Dutta admitting that the "chief grievance of sexual harassment wasn't even addressed (in 2008)" but added that since the case was more than three years old, they could not reopen it.[12][13][14]
In 2018, Dutta restated her accusation of sexual harassment by Patekar in 2018, and her accusations led to theMe Too movement coming toBollywood.[15][16][17] Subsequently, she complained to the Maharashtra Women Commission and demanded an investigation into the allegations of harassment levelled by her against Patekar,Ganesh Acharya, producer Samee Siddiqui, director Rakesh Sarang, and severalMaharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) party workers.[18][19] In the late hours of 1 October 2018, An FIR was registered against Patekar and three others at Oshiwara police station following a complaint by Dutta late on Wednesday night. Patekar, choreographer Ganesh Acharya, director Rakesh Sarang and producer Samee Siddiqui were booked for molestation and obscenity under theIndian Penal Code (IPC).[20]
In June 2019, Patekar was cleared of the sexual harassment charges. The B-Summary report filed by the Oshiwara police station in Mumbai said that the complaint filed by Dutta could be "malicious" and "out of revenge".[21][22] Dutta said that her lawyers may approach the Bombay High Court to reopen the case.[23][24]
Patekar is known for his simple lifestyle[25][26] and his generosity in donating to charities. He contributed money towards rebuilding of the flood ravaged villages in Bihar through the charitable organisationAnubhuthi.[27] All the monetary remuneration he obtained for his performance in the moviePaathshaala was donated by him to five different charitable organisations.[28] When he was awarded theRaj Kapoor award which carries a cash prize of Rs 1,000,000, he donated the entire amount towards drought relief activities in Maharashtra.[29] He also provided financial aid to families of farmers who committed suicide due to indebtedness brought about by drought. He distributed cheques worth Rs 15,000 to 62 families of farmers from Vidarbha region in August 2015, and another 113 families fromLatur andOsmanabad districts of Marathwada in September 2015.[30][31]
In September 2015, Patekar established theNaam Foundation, with fellow Marathi actorMakarand Anaspure, which works to provide aid to farmers overcome by drought conditions in Maharashtra.[32]
Using a Twitter campaign with the hashtag IcareIsupport, Patekar was able to obtain funds to help Maharashtra drought victims.[33]
| Year | Award | Film | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Best Supporting Actor | Parinda | Won |
| 1995 | Best Actor | Krantiveer | Won |
| 1997 | Best Supporting Actor | Agni Sakshi | Won |
| 1989 | Best Supporting Actor | Andha Yudh | Nominated |
| 1990 | Parinda | Won | |
| 1991 | Best Story | Prahaar: The Final Attack | Nominated |
| 1992 | Best Villain | Angaar | Won |
| 1993 | Best Supporting Actor | Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman | Nominated |
| 1994 | Tirangaa | Nominated | |
| 1995 | Best Actor | Krantiveer | Won |
| 1997 | Khamoshi: The Musical | Nominated | |
| 2003 | Best Villain | Shakti: The Power | Nominated |
| 2006 | Apaharan | Won | |
| 2011 | Best Supporting Actor | Raajneeti | Nominated |
| 1995 | Best Actor | Krantiveer | Won |
| 2006 | Best Villain | Apaharan | Won |
| 1983 | Best Actor | Raghu Maina | Won |
| 1986 | Best Actor | Gad Jejuri Jejuri | Won |
| 2015 | Best Actor | Dr. Prakash Baba Amte – The Real Hero | Won[36] |
| 2017 | Natsamrat | ||
| 2004 | Best Actor (Hindi) | Ab Tak Chhappan | Won |
| 2017 | Best Actor (Marathi) | Natsamrat | Won[37] |
| 2018 | Best Villain – Male | Kaala | Won[37] |
| International | |
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