Nana Patekar

This Bollywood personality does not need any formal introduction, as the name says it all! Although he does not display a conventional actor's looks, his portrayal of roles steals the show undoubtedly. The versatile Bollywood actor Nana Patekar left an unforgettable impression on viewers' mind with his excellent acting skills. He was born on 1st January, 1951 to a painter father and a housewife mother in Murud-Janjira, Raigad District. Nana Patekar was originally named Vishwanath Patekar and was fondly called 'Nana', which later became his identity and he received tremendous fame with this name. Being a student of Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Arts, Nana was proactive into theater.

Nana Patekar got his acting debut long back in the year 1978 in the film 'Gaman' along with Smita Patil. The next was a Marathi film 'Sinhasan' in 1979. With this, Nana marked his presence in both the film industries in a short span of time. Catering the industry further, Patekar delivered flicks like 'Aaj Ki Awaz', 'Ankush', 'Lord Mountbatten','Sutradhar' along with another Marathi film 'Maaficha Saakshidar'. However, the actor then grabbed attention with his sheer acting talent in 1987 released 'Mohre' followed by 1988's 'Salaam Bombay' and then 1989 release 'Parinda' that made him capable to fetch his first 'National Award for Actor in Supporting Role'.

Being honored by this national recognition, Nana went ahead and gave his best in his next flick 'Prahaar: The Final Attack' alongside Madhuri Dixit, which as well marked the actor's directorial debut. The actor was now very keen on getting into the skin of the character and hence, Nana got himself recruited in the Indian Army. The character demanded Nana to play an Army man and soon Nana began with his training, which resulted in Nana being honored by Captain's rank in the Indian Army for real. His dedication and passion soon gained him sheer respect in the industry.

Nana soon got back into the industry with the flicks like 'Tirangaa', 'Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman' and 'Angaar', thereby neared his chances to be felicitated with national honor once again. His then release 'Krantiveer' pushed him forward to receive the 'National Award' for the second time, but for a change this time it was for Best Actor.

Till now, Nana has proved his versatility by essaying various roles of diverse genres, such as a wife abuser in 'Agni Saakshi', a dumb father in the film 'Khamoshi: The Musical', a Muslim goon in 'Ghulam-E-Mustafa', a furious cop in 'Yeshwant' and a profound gang lord in 'Shakti - The Power'. But his next venture bounced Patekar back grabbing numerous eyeballs. The flick was none other than 'Ab Tak Chhappan' in the year 2004. His powerful acting portraying an encounter specialist gave life to the character and is remembered till date. The film was appreciated nationwide that resulted in Nana Patekar receiving an award for the Best Actor category from the 'Bengal Film Journalists Association'.

Moving ahead with flicks like 'Apaharan', 'Bluffmaster', 'Taxi No. 9211' ,'Welcome' and 'Raajneeti' becoming a commercial hits , the actor still remained rooted and ended working in various Marathi projects like 'Pak Pak Pakaak' and 'Deool'. Not bounding himself, Patekar geared up and acted in other lingual flicks too like Tamil film 'Bommalattam' and Kannada film 'Yaksha'.

The actor was a lot famous on television in mid 90's for lending his voice in a popular cartoon series 'Jungle Book'. In this series, Nana vocalized the antagonist Sher Khan that went on pretty well and was appreciated by galore. Nana also gained negative publicity for his sharp views about the happenings and which is all famous in his writings as well that he does for a regional language newspaper.

He leads a joyous life along with the wife Neelakanti Patekar and son Malhar Patekar. The actor has been the sole in the industry to grab 'Filmfare' in three categories, that is, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Villain. Looking at his marvelous contribution in the industry, the Government of India has honored Nana with the prestigious "Padma Shri" award on the occasion of 'Republic Day' earlier this year, 2013.