Interview: Nana Patekar said – This is my last chance, people will not remember what I did yesterday

‘I remember, our father used to charge 20 paise for the kurta press. When my father asked me to get that kurta ironed, I used to say, ‘Father, I will do it’, then father would give me ten paisa. Ten paise was a lot at that time. I used to study in JJ School of Arts and at that time I used to get four annas as pocket money. Outside the Times of India, one could buy banana for 15 paise and two bananas for five paise each. I used to buy bananas from outside Anjuman Islam School in Mumbai. We used to carry bread wrapped in newspaper. We didn’t even have tiffin. Such were the times, but where will one learn now what those days taught?

Now what do you think about the awards? You have received three National Awards.

-Awards are not important for me, if I get one, I feel good, but that is a moment, wow, I got it. But that is temporary. I have received three National Awards, that’s a lot. Yes, when I got the National Award for ‘Parinda’, my mother said, how are you getting the award for playing such a disgusting role. My mother was from a village, so this was a very surprising thing for her.

‘To be honest, getting an award is a nice feeling, but I don’t want my films to be just art films, they should get a lot of awards. I want to do such a film which reaches maximum audience. Now there is a film like ‘Natsamrat’. I think it is important for any film to connect with the audience. Now, I don’t remember counting how many times I have seen Dilip Kumar’s ‘Ganga Jamuna’.

How do you handle the controversies and trolling around?

-You appreciate, abuse, what difference does it make to me. Whatever you have to say, you will say it, I don’t have anything to do with it. I am happy with myself.

In your previous Marathi film ‘Ole Aale’ also you played the role of a father and in your latest film ‘Vanvas’ too you are seen playing the role of a father, so are you now getting attracted towards fatherly roles?

-We are also thinking of making this Marathi film in Hindi. I have asked the makers to cast Shahid Kapoor for the son’s role in Hindi. I find Shahid an amazing actor. I like two actors very much, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor. The rest of the actors are also good, but I like these two actors more. I did ‘Pathshala’ with Shahid. he/she is an amazing actor. Now look at Utkarsh, this boy has done a great job in the film.

‘As far as playing the role of a father is concerned, our father is always shown in a typical melodramatic style, but this character of ‘Vanvas’ is not like that. This character is actually the story of every household. You will all be able to relate to this. I never got a chance to play that kind of character. The character moves forward with the humor that is created in the inconsistencies. I think this is my last chance. So I put my soul into my role. Look, people won’t remember what I did yesterday, but people will remember my work today. So I left no stone unturned.