‘He joked about being a better cook than an actor’: Aditya Sarpotdar remembers Nana Patekar

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[popcorn number="8" desc="Films he played a gangster in, including ‘Parinda'" class="Default"]

What I will remember about Nana Patekar is not just the extraordinary actor he was, but the way he existed on a film set. He was friends with everyone. It didn't matter whether you were an actor, a technician, or a spot boy; he made himself available to people.

One of the things I will always remember is his relationship with food and how he brought that to the set. Every schedule, he would cook. He would make mutton for nearly 50 people on the set, preparing the curry from scratch, grinding the spices, spending hours getting the preparation right, and then feeding everybody. He was a fantastic cook and took enormous pride in it. He would often joke about being a better cook than an actor, which, given the actor he was, was obviously quite something. His Kolhapuri-style mutton was special.

I had long conversations with him, where he would talk about filmmakers he had worked with and the experiences in his career. He had this wealth of knowledge, but he never made you feel like he was lecturing you.

He had this wonderful enthusiasm for cinema even after all these years. That's something I found inspiring. It made me think about what it means to continue loving the process after you've been doing something for 50 years.

Aditya Sarpotdar

That is the Nana Kaka I will remember. A great actor, certainly. But also a friend to everyone on set, a raconteur, a cook, a mentor, and above all, someone who never stopped being excited about cinema.

Did you know?

Nana Patekar made his directorial debut with ‘Prahaar' (1991)