Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 8 (ANI): Rakesh Bedi, who worked with Nana Patekar in the 1993 film 'Tiranga', remembered the late actor and spoke about the respect he had for his approach to cinema. Patekar died on Thursday at the age of 75 after suffering a severe cardiac arrest at his residence in Goa.
Speaking about his early association with Patekar, Bedi recalled working with him in Tiranga, which continues to be remembered by audiences even years after its release. Bedi said the film remains one of his works that is still “appreciated” by viewers.
Rakesh Bedi said, “Well, I worked with him in the beginning. After that, it’s been a very long time, and I haven’t worked with him together for a long time. But in my initial work, like, Taranga is one of my films, and it is still appreciated a lot even today.”
Bedi also spoke about Patekar’s personality and said the actor always followed his own path. He recalled that Patekar did not mix easily with everyone and chose films and roles based on his own choices and terms.
“No, see, the thing is that it has been a very long time since I sat with him or met him. Because he was his own kind of person; he didn’t mix much with anyone, you know! And he did films on his own terms and conditions,” he said.
Remembering Patekar’s career, Bedi said he had a lot of “respect” for the actor because of the way he chose his roles and the kind of cinema he wanted to be part of. He also compared Patekar’s screen image with the angry young man era of Hindi cinema.
“I have a lot of respect for him because he is a man who worked on his own conditions. The kind of cinema he wanted to do, the kind of roles he wanted to do. And in his time, I would say that during Mr Bachchan’s era, he created another angry young man. You know! So… which was a very big feat at that time, according to me,” Bedi added.
In Tiranga, Patekar played the intense Inspector Shivajirao Wagle, while Bedi played Khabrilal, a police informer. The film also starred Raj Kumar and Nana Patekar in key roles.
Patekar was one of the well-known actors in Hindi and Marathi cinema. He made his acting debut with Gaman in 1978 and went on to feature in films such as Parinda, Prahaar, Angaar, Krantiveer, Tiranga, Khamoshi and Ab Tak Chhappan.
In recent years, Patekar continued to work in films and was seen in Housefull 5. He also appeared in Vishal Bhardwaj’s O’Romeo and had a cameo in Subedar, starring Anil Kapoor and Radhika Madan.
According to Dr Shekhar Salkar, Chief of the Oncology Department at Manipal Hospital, Patekar was taken to the hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest at his residence in Goa. Doctors tried to revive him for around 45 minutes but could not save him. (ANI)
Nana Patekar death: Rakesh Bedi recalls ‘Tiranga’ co-star, says “I have a lot of respect for him”
