Film Prahaar: Over the years, many iconic portrayals in the Hindi film industry have left a strong mark on the psyche of audiences. There are many actors who have given individual brilliance here and there. But there is hardly any actor who can match the versatility and impeccable acting skills of Nana Patekar. His unforgettable dialogues like ‘Ek Machar Aadmi ko…’, ‘Ye Hindu ka khoon, ye Muslim ka khoon…’, ‘Aa Gaye meri maut ka tamasha dekhne…’ or matching the charisma of legendary actor Raj Kumar in the movie Tiranga speak volumes of his unparalleled skills to capture the unflinching attention of the audiences.
But do you know that apart from avid lovers of Hindi film industry, veteran actor Nana Patekar had time and again impressed the Armed forces personnel with his dedication and knack for doing Justice with the role he does on screen and imbibing those traits in his personal life.
Nana Patekar underwent three years of rigorous commando training
In the 1990s, the notoriety of being close to the underworld was badly impacting the image of Hindi Film Industry. At that time, the criminal world of the underworld and Bollywood were like two sides of the same coin. By then, Nana Patekar had played negative roles in films like ‘Maficha Sakshidaar’, ‘Ankush’ and ‘Parinda’.
Fed up of the all-round negativity, Nana Patekar decided to take matters in his own hand and shed this negative perception of the industry. He decided to act, direct and even write for a new project that would shed positive light on the training of the Armed forces personnel.
Notably, Nana Patekar directed and co-wrote the screenplay for the film ‘Prahaar’. In addition to Nana Patekar, actors like Madhuri Dixit, Gautam Joglekar, Dimple Kapadia, Makarand Deshpande and Shivkumar Subramanian also graced the film Prahaar with their presence.
Though the film Prahaar was not a commercial success, it was widely appreciated for its near to real portrayal of the Indian Armed Forces. Before and after Prahaar, Bollywood has made several movies based on our armed forces, but they fail to live up to the expectations that this film has set with its accurate presentation of our armed forces personnel.
In order to do justice with the role of Major Chauhan (Nana’s role in the movie), Nana Patekar even underwent three years of rigorous training in order to make a film based on the routine procedures and training of the Indian Army.
Brief storyline
The story of the film Prahaar revolves around Peter D’Souza played by Gautam Joglekar. He decides to volunteer for commando training and comes across Major Chauhan played by Nana Patekar. Major Chauhan is a hard task master who does not compromise on discipline. For that, he does everything possible to mold every cadet under his command into a skilled commando.
Initially, Peter feels irritated by Major Chauhan’s ways of doing things but he gradually starts agreeing with his views. Later, he goes on to become the best cadet in his training camp. But due to unfortunate circumstances he suffers a premature death. The film Prahaar then sheds light on those circumstances and why Major Chauhan turned into a rebellion to get Justice for his trainee, Peter.
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Maratha Light Infantry honoured Nana Patekar for his diligence
Even though Nana Patekar was not the lead character of the film Prahaar, he wanted to play his character with full conviction that suits the portrayal of these real-life heroes. To imbibe every trait of an Army officer, Nana Patekar trained for almost three years with Maratha Light Infantry whose Major he was supposed to play in the film Prahaar.
Highly impressed by his discipline and work ethics, the Indian Army roped him into the territorial army and applauded his conviction by awarding him the Honorary Rank of Major.
In fact, his unwavering support and respect for the Indian Army continues till date. Call it PR strategy or genuine admiration for the Armed forces personnel, several celebrities have been seen praising, clicking pictures with men/women in uniforms, or making all praise speeches for the Armed forces.
But Nana Patekar differs from them in the sense that he has been materialising his words into actions. For example, when the Kargil War was going on in full swing, Nana Patekar camped among the soldiers in action for more than a fortnight, to support them in every manner possible.
Similarly, when the so-called liberal lobby asked for proofs about the surgical strikes, it was Nana Patekar who took them head on and lambasted the cabal for asking the same.
Praising the armed forces, he once said, “Our greatest weapon is not the Bofors, nor the AK, but our jawans”.
On account of these highly appreciative efforts, Nana Patekar stands apart from other actors who remain content in playing the reel life heroes.
He has been doing everything possible to live up to the honorary rank he once got for his unflinching dedication in portraying the real-life heroes on the bigger screen and for that he deserves to be applauded and if possible, replicated again.
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