Nana Patekar: 3 National Award roles that changed Bollywood

Nana Patekar, the actor who gave Hindi cinema a new vocabulary of rage and restless energy, died on Wednesday morning at his home in Dona Paula, Goa. He was found unconscious and taken to Manipal Hospital, where doctors spent about 45 minutes trying to revive him. His final screen appearance was in Vishal Bhardwaj’s O’Romeo, which released earlier this year.

Three National Awards across nine years

Between 1989 and 1997, Patekar won three National Film Awards for three completely different characters. That range is rare. In an era when the industry rewarded slow dialogue delivery and stillness, Patekar arrived with fast talking, sudden anger and small physical quirks that made his people feel dangerous and real.

• Parinda (1989): Best Supporting Actor for Anna, a don who could be gentle and terrifying in the same breath.
• Krantiveer (1995): Best Actor for Pratap, a vigilante who turned a formula revenge drama into a blockbuster.
• Agni Sakshi: Best Supporting Actor for Vishwanath, an abusive husband whose cruelty still unsettles viewers.

Why these performances still matter

Patekar’s Anna in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Parinda is often seen as a starting point for realistic underworld characters in mainstream Hindi films. The performance showed that a villain did not need to shout to be menacing, and it opened the door for a generation of actors who followed.

With Krantiveer, Mehul Kumar’s film became the third-highest-grossing Hindi release of 1994 and Patekar’s first blockbuster as a leading man. It told the industry he was not only a character actor; he could hold a masala film on his shoulders and still bring craft to the loudest moments.

Agni Sakshi was the most acclaimed of three 1996 Bollywood takes on Sleeping With The Enemy. Patekar played Vishwanath, a possessive, controlling husband who stalks his wife even after she leaves. It was the kind of role that could easily tip into melodrama; instead, Patekar kept it chillingly grounded.

He continued to be a magnetic screen presence in films such as Ab Tak Chhappan, Kaala and Natsamrat, and won a Filmfare Best Villain award for Apaharan. A fourth National Award, though, never arrived.

For younger fans who know Patekar only from clips and memes, the three award-winning films are the most direct route into what made him a force. Parinda shows the control, Krantiveer shows the energy, and Agni Sakshi shows the risk.

Source: Hindustan Times

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