N. Chandra On Nana Patekar: ‘It’s A Loss To Cinema, A Loss To Farmers And Then, To Theater, But I’ve Suffered A Personal Loss’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Nana Patekar’s first Hindi film “Ankush” was helmed by N. Chandra. The director worked with the actor in several films since, but first-times are special. And N. Chandra is besides himself as he tells Variety India that he still hasn’t “fully processed” the news. “It hasn’t sunk in yet. I couldn’t believe it at first until I saw the news. I called to confirm. It still feels like a phone call will come. But finally, the news has been confirmed everywhere,” he says.

If “Ankush” was Nana’s Hindi debut, it also was the starting point for N. Chandra. He shares, “It's a loss to cinema, a loss to farmers and then, to theater. But I have suffered a personal loss. Nobody else would have suffered such a loss. Because I started my career with that man. And for me, a circle has completed. Somewhere, a full stop has been put to that circle; that circle is completed.”

The filmmaker is still in shock. “It's unbelievable, unimaginable, and a very painful event. Because if anyone had given me 100 unimaginable things from this category, Nana Patekar's death wouldn't have crossed my mind even among those. It was impossible.”

He recalls, “When we were making ‘Ankush,’ we needed newcomers. Whoever we spoke to, demanded a lot of money. But Nana said, ‘Pay whatever you want to, but whatever you promise, pay that much. I won't take even a rupee less than that.’”

Related Stories

Nana Patekar Dies at 75: Akshay Kumar, Jr NTR, Ram Gopal Varma and Others Mourn Veteran Actor’s Passing

Nana Patekar: His Life And Career In Photos

Sharing anecdotes about how Nana was cast for the film, he recalls, “I had seen Nana in a Marathi play and a film, where his character was villainous. I thought about keeping him for the villain's role, so I contacted him. He heard the story and told me, ‘Do whatever you want, but give me one of the roles among those four boys.’ He said, ‘Even if you don't give me a single shot or a dialogue, I'll sit in the corner, but give me one role among those four boys.’ So then we thought if he is committing so much and not making fee demands like that, then let's take him. But later we realized that we turned over a stone and a diamond came out from under it. Like winning a lottery, as they say.”

Testifying to the actor’s powerful screen presence, he admits, “Actually all four boys were the same for us. But he was so powerful that he naturally appeared as the chief of that gang. Even though it wasn't like that when we had thought of it; all four boys were at the same level. But his presence was so influential, his personality was so strong that it felt like he is the leader of the gang, and the rest are just his sidekicks, as they say. That can only be due to his acting prowess, right? Nothing else, because whatever is seen on screen is what is visible.”

N Chandra reminisces about the aftermath of the film. “When ‘Ankush’ became a hit, I was living in a chawl at Worli Naka, and he used to visit there often. So in the evening he came. That very morning, I had got some money from profit earlier, so I bought a scooter. Until then, we used to travel by bus, so I thought let's buy a scooter at least for transportation. So I parked the scooter outside, because the house was just two rooms. Nana came by and said, ‘Wow, what's the matter? You bought a new scooter? That's great.’ As we were standing near the scooter, I threw the key right there and said, ‘Take it with you.’ I knew he deserved it, because he was one of the reasons that scooter was there. So he drove it away.” 

Nana cherished relationships and that’s something that stayed with the filmmaker. He concludes, “After that, for the next 10 to 15 years, when he lived at his Dadar house, it remained parked right outside there. He never sold it. He considered it a very priceless symbol of our friendship. That scooter was standing there. After that we didn't work together for a while, but my car used to pass in front of his house, and it was parked right outside in the courtyard. I always saw it and remembered him. I think preserving things, preserving relationships was an inherent trait of him.”