Mehul Kumar on Nana Patekar’s three films and Krantiveer 2

For filmmaker Mehul Kumar, the hardest part of Nana Patekar’s passing is that it still doesn’t feel real. In a conversation with The Times of India, he remembered an actor who lived carefully—eating and drinking well—but carried one famous fault: a temper. ‘He was very kind heart,’ Kumar said. The director remains the only filmmaker who made three features with Patekar: Tiranga, Krantiveer and Kohram.

A bond built on an early yes

That record started because other stars said no. When Tiranga was being cast, neither Rajinikanth nor Naseeruddin Shah was willing to take the role. It was publicity designer Studio Link who suggested Patekar. Mehul went to his Lokhandwala home, narrated the story, and Patekar agreed—with one condition.

Patekar had never worked with Raj Kumar, whose moodiness was well known. ‘I am doing the film, but if Mr Raj Kumar interferes on the set, I will leave the set and not come back,’ Mehul recalled him saying.

The rule that kept two tempers in check

Mehul says he never had a problem with either star. His method was simple: the story was set before the cameras rolled. Actors could talk through concerns, but the changes were not up for negotiation once shooting began.

• Tiranga was completed in six months and became a super hit.
• Patekar and Raj Kumar initially kept their distance, then warmed up during the song ‘Pee Le Together’.
• Krantiveer followed as another blockbuster, with Patekar as its backbone.

Patekar returned the trust. According to Mehul, the actor often said he had only one director with whom he never had any problem—Mehul Kumar.

Kohram, Bachchan and a family bond

For Kohram, a film on terrorism, Mehul took the story first to Amitabh Bachchan, who agreed, then to Patekar. Bachchan was aware of Patekar’s reputation and asked for reassurance; Mehul reminded him it was his third film with Patekar. There was no problem.

Outside the set, the association was close to family. Mehul’s wife tied a rakhi on Patekar every Raksha Bandhan. The actor would call home when he wanted to eat and say he was coming. At a premiere, Patekar asked Mehul to click a photo of the three of them.

A sequel that was already in the works

Mehul Kumar says he had finalised the subject for Krantiveer 2 and told Patekar about it. Patekar’s answer, in his telling, was simple: he would do it.

For fans, the memories are the archive: Tiranga’s patriotic charge, Krantiveer’s raw anger, and Kohram’s first pairing with Bachchan. The actor may be gone, but the work—and now the story of how it got made—stays.

Source: The Times of India