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Paresh Rawal on Nana Patekar: âœNo Artifice. No Half Measuresâ

Oct 9, 2026 · 12:23 AM Blog By onmynews.com

Few screen partnerships in Hindi cinema have the lived-in ease of Nana Patekar and Paresh Rawal. They shared frames in Krantiveer (1994), Welcome (2007) and Aanch (2003) and long before that, they shared a stage-struck youth in Mumbai’s Marathi theatre circuit. In an exclusive conversation with Filmfare, Rawal opens up about the Nana few people see: the temper, the tea, the mutton, and the quiet generosity.

On the stage

“In our youth, we were all into theatre. I had seen him doing a Marathi play at Chhabildas, which was Aala Adanayacha Gaada directed by Arvind Deshpande. We must have been so young, and I watched him with a mixture of awe and envy. Then, of course, one had seen him in plays for Vijayabai, like Hamidabaichi Kothi. He was already a veteran on stage.”

The first meeting

“I think the first time I saw him was at Anil Ganguly’s office. He had no artifice. He just walked up to me and said, ‘Tera kaam achha hai Arjun mein.’ Rahul Rawail’s Arjun (1985) had released and I was being praised for it. And guess what he had come to Anil Ganguly’s office for? Only to say no to a film. One of the first films we signed together was Aanch (which released later on in 2003), directed by Rajesh Singh, in which Vyjayanthimala’s son Suchindra Bali made his Hindi debut.”

The temper

“And boy, was he mercurial! I remember him blowing his top on the sets of Ghulam-E-Mustafa (1997). He hated inefficiency and people who aren’t prepared. He would get irritated even on the Welcome sets. He couldn’t handle lack of clarity. He was straightforward and told you like it was, so in that sense he could end up being intimidating. There were no half measures for Nana. He wouldn’t suffer fools gladly, and I’ve seen his temper on sets. Once, after cooking an excellent mutton dish for a producer of his film, he made the producer clean up the vessels. That’s how unpredictable he was.”

The softer side

“He would often call and ask about my wife and kids: ‘Sampat kaisi hai?’ He mellowed a lot in the last few years. And the social service he did was amazing. He went on about it without any hype, without shouting from the rooftops. He was very happy that, like him, I don’t socialise or party. He had no malice, no agendas. I never saw any vindictiveness in him.”

The tea test

“I recall Ram Gopal Varma telling me he wanted Nana for Shiva (1989), a role later played by Raghuvaran. Nana asked Ramu to come over and asked if he’d have tea. When RGV said yes, Nana told him to make it. Ramu said he didn’t know how, so Nana actually called Ramu’s mother and complained about her son. Ha! His long scene in the climax of RGV’s The Attacks of 26/11 (2013) is unbelievable. I saw it recently.”

The role that never happened

“I really wanted to write a character of a cool biker with dreadlocks for OMG 2 with him. It would have been a good character. Somehow the script didn’t take shape as I had envisaged, so I opted out of the film. It was later made with a godlike character, which Akshay (Kumar) played.”

Summing up a legend

“Nana was like that: no artifice. There was no room for shallow conversations. He had so much gravitas. He was a yaaron ka yaar.”

Also Read: Mahesh Manjrekar: “Nana Patekar Was One of The Best Guys to Be With”

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Ranabaali Trailer: Vijay Deverakonda Leads a Folklore-backed Revolt Against British Oppression

Oct 9, 2026 · 12:23 AM Blog By onmynews.com

“Stories preserved through generations, living on in folklore. Now, we bring them to the BIGGEST SCREENS across THE WORLD. The history that shaped us. The Indian men we descend from. A story that deserves to be told right,” the makers of Vijay Deverakonda’s Ranabaali wrote while unveiling the theatrical trailer for their Dasara release.

Fierce and coherent

The trailer opens on a devotional-folklore note, with a storyteller anticipating the birth of a divinely ordained saviour. This is followed by visuals of the British subjecting bonded Indian labourers to torture and humiliation. The racist belief that famines are nature’s way of wiping out communities that breed “like cattle” sets the tone for the film’s Madras Famine-oriented narrative.

Visuals of Singanamala Bobbili Ranabaali’s private militia-like men shoving spices into the backs of British officials hint at the film’s rawness and unflinching tone. Rashmika Mandanna and Arnold Vosloo play the female lead and antagonist, respectively.

Religious imagery and the trope of an angry deity taking human form to restore order are impossible to miss. Director Rahul Sankrityan appears to have packed the second half with intense sequences, particularly a rousing stretch in which a hyper-agitated male lead goes on a rampage, leading a bloody revolt against the British.

The film’s runtime is reportedly 185 minutes, a length Vijay has defended. “I never understood why some people even think the runtime is even a point of discussion. People (the majority of the audience) go by the teaser and trailer. Why is length even being discussed?” he said.

Online buzz is positive

Netizens are raving about the newly released trailer. Viewers across X and other social media platforms have hailed it as a “powerful comeback”, praising the actor’s “fierce, commanding” presence as the Rayalaseema warrior.

“Vijay performance trailer lone full ga dominate chesindi,” one user wrote, while another declared “Konda Anna rule back” and praised the rich visuals and “outstanding” production values.

Many viewers also celebrated the film’s raw storytelling and Ajay-Atul’s score, with reactions describing it as a “mass trailer”. The emotional depth, historical rootedness and chemistry between Vijay and Rashmika have also drawn praise.

Also Read: Vijay Deverakonda’s Character in Ranabaali Is Inspired By Historical Warriors

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I Would Have Died… 25 Years Backâ : When Nana Patekar Spoke On The Natsamrat Curse

Oct 9, 2026 · 1:23 PM Blog By onmynews.com

The veteran actor Nana Patekar passed away yesterday in his Goa residence on October 8, 2026. The news came as an absolute shock to all of his fans across the world.

Nana Patekar is known for his massive contributions to the world of cinema with numerous Iconic characters under his belt of creations. One of his recent roles was in the movie Natsamrat. During an event, Nana Patekar had an unusual POV to point out about the actors who had taken the helm of the role before him.

Nana said, “Whoever has done Natsamrat, the play, has died of a heart attack. When I was approached for Natsamrat, I refused to do the play. I said I would do the film. You put your life into the play. had I done that too, I would have died 10, 15, or 25 years back.”

Nana Patekar pointed out an important distinction between movies and plays with respect to how they are remembered. He said, “Once you do the role in cinema, it is immortal. Dr Laagu, Dutta Bhatt, Chandrakant Gokhale, everyone did Natsamrat the play, whoever was a part of it all died of a heart attack. That is why I played the character in the film Natsamrat.”

He further continued to lay some praise on those who played the role before him and how their performances were untouchable. “Dr Laagu and Dutta Bhatt were my reference when I was doing Natsamrat; what I have done is nothing compared to the original play they performed.”

The last rites were performed for Nana Patekar on October 8 at his Pune farmhouse. He was consigned to the flames by his own son, Malhar Patekar, at 11:30 pm. Speaking about his father, he mentioned how his vision still lives through his contributions to society under the Naam Foundation, which would continue to help those in need.

Also Read: Exclusive: “Aise Actors Kam Hi Milte Hai Life Mein” – Dimple Kapadia Remembers Nana Patekar

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