Nana Patekar is no more as he reportedly died due to a cardiac arrest at the age of 75. He was a rare actor that made a transistion from a character artist to a very successful hero. He made an entry into films in the late 70's doing some Marathi films but first came to attention with the B R Chopra superhit film, AAJ KI AWAZ, where he played the antagonist.

Then came the sleeper Hit ANKUSH in 1986 and these films gave him a good fan following due to his dialogue delivery with the public in Maharashtra. It all erupted with the blockbuster film TIRANGAA which actually made Nana Patekar a full fledged star. This was followed by more Blockbusters like KRANTIVEER and AGNI SAKSHI. At that point of time, he was probably the biggest star in Maharashtra as his films fetched a huge premium here sometimes taking the prices ahead of the biggest stars.

The 93-97 period was huge for Nana Patekar as barring KHAMOSHI (1996), all his films succeeded. The films were TIRANGAA (1993), KRANTIVEER (1994), HUM DONO (1995), AGNI SAKSHI (1996), YESHWANT (1997) and GHULAM-E-MUSTHAFA (1997). Barring HUM DONO, all the other films were bonafide Hit films in Maharashtra and a lot was down to his star pull in the state.

As makers tried to cash in this success, it became very repetitive which led to the downfall as the dialogues which were organic in the likes of TIRANGAA and KRANTIVEER became very forced which led to films not faring well. Yet, a decade later, he found huge success with WELCOME (2007) with an insanely popular character and arguably, this was his most famous character. Its unlikely that someone so unconventional in terms of the male lead will ever reach the status that Nana Patekar did in the 90's.

Reflecting on the passing of the late actor Nana Patekar, filmmaker Mehul Kumar, who worked with him on three projects including Tirangaa (1993), Krantiveer (1994), and Kohram (1999) says, “He always brought something of his own to the table as an actor that made his characters unforgettable. He understood acting in a way few do.” Their connection, Kumar notes, transcended professional boundaries; it was a bond rooted in family.

Their collaboration began with Tirangaa, a project that paired Nana with the veteran actor Rajkumar. “People used to say that this film would never be complete,” Kumar recalls. “But it became a super hit. This was followed by Kohram, which featured an unusual pairing of Amitabh Bachchan and Nana, based on the subject of terrorism. However, it was Krantiveer I feel that stood as the defining project of our partnership,” he says.

Kumar adds, “Distributors initially questioned the decision to cast Nana in a solo lead, but I remained resolute. I told them, ‘I am not making a film with just any hero. This film was written for Nana. He was in my mind and character, and only he could do this.’”

Addressing their working dynamic, Kumar explains, “When I work with big artists, I tell them the whole story scene-wise, so there is no discussion on set during Tirangaa he told me, ‘See Mehul, I have just one condition. I am working with Rajkumar for the first time, and I don’t want any interference in my scenes.’ That was his condition and I was like ‘arre nahin kuch nahin hoga’. He worked accordingly, and there was never a problem.”

Recalling their final meeting at a film premiere, Kumar shares, “We were sitting together and staying at the same hotel, so he asked me, ‘Mehul, come tomorrow morning. We will sit and talk.’ We spent an hour talking about Mission Tiranga, my fourth ambitious project with him.”

Kumar had even envisioned a new project with the actor. “Nana had already agreed to do it anytime, and we were set to roll it out in 2027. It wasn’t a sequel, but a story centered entirely around him. Now, my mission is incomplete without him.”

Concluding on the irreplaceable nature of the actor’s craft, Kumar says, “Nobody can fill his shoes. You cannot give his roles to anyone else. Even the title Mission Tiranga cannot be used for anyone else. Tirangaa and Krantiveer can never be remade; they are legendary films.”

The film Rustom (2016) got the Navy uniform wrong in many ways. Though it was set in the 1950s, Akshay Kumar’s character, naval officer Cdr K M Nanavati, wore the Kargil Star (1999) as well as other medals from recent decades. The name tag was also introduced in the 1970s

Soon after the release of the first poster of Akshay Kumar’s film Gorkha – where the actor is seen holding a khukri – former Army officer Major Manik M Jolly tweeted to Kumar, pointing out that a traditional khukri is different. He wrote, “Dear Akshay Kumar ji, as an ex Gorkha officer, my thanks to you for making this movie. However, details matter. Kindly get the Khukri right.(sic)” Kumar responded, “We’ll take utmost care while filming. I’m very proud and honoured to be making Gorkha. Any suggestions to get it closest to reality would be most appreciated.”

This isn’t the first time an officer has pointed out a mistake in Bollywood films. We spoke to a few officers from the armed forces and experts to understand why they often don’t get it right.

Experts say that most films can’t survive the test of accuracy because filmmakers don’t understand the nuances of the uniform, dialogues or weapons. A serving Army officer on condition of anonymity says, “The reason they don’t get it right is that they take shortcuts and do not want to get into details. While a war movie still has some nuances, if it’s a general movie where a character happens to be a military officer, it seems like they just randomly pick whatever uniform is available. Be it unit, core or colours – they get nothing right. Peace uniforms and combat gear is entirely different, but filmmakers do not differentiate.”

“Ribbons signify a lot in the military uniform, but they are used as an embellishment in Bollywood films, and so are caps. What usually happens is that filmmakers do not discuss this with military historians, and that’s why they don’t get those details right. I remember in the film Tirangaa (1993), there is a clip that introduces Raaj Kumar and it says that the Major was promoted to Brigadier. It is preposterous. But the focus for them was on Raaj Kumar’s character and not the wrong ranks they were using in dialogues. Similarly, in Jab Tak Hai Jaan, SRK’s character is so filmy, but then it is also the USP of the film,” says Gautam Chintamani, a film historian.

Film historian Gautam Chintamani points out that there are films like Govind Nihlani’s Vijeta (1982) or Prahaar: The Final Attack (1991), starring Nana Patekar, that have gotten it right. He says, “Even the war scenes in Chetan Anand’s Hindustan Ki Kasam (1973) were so good because they consulted the retired officers. In recent years, Uri (2019) and Shershaah (2021) were both bang-on in their depictions of the military. Right now there is a keen interest of the audience to see these characters, and even military officers are watching and responding, which is great.”

Uri, too, had former Army officers on board as advisors. Major General (Retired) A K Siwach, who was the Defence advisor for Uri, told us earlier, “I had asked for changes in the first draft of Uri and for them to revise the script again. I also told them to give the background of the operations and characters. Getting the nuances right is the most important thing for such films. For example, for the surgical strike scene, they wanted there to be a tunnel. I told them there are no tunnels there, make it caves. I have asked for changes several times.”

In Main Hoon Na (2004), Shah Rukh Khan’s character is of a Para Commando but the cap he wears is ceremonial