Nana Patekar

Vishwanath Patekar (born 1 January 1951), better known as Nana Patekar, is an Indian actor, film maker, mainly working in Hindi and Marathi cinema. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in Indian Cinema, Patekar is recipient of three National Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards, two Maharashtra State Film Awards and Filmfare Awards Marathi respectively for his acting performances. He was bestowed with the Padma Shri award in 2013 for his contribution in cinema and arts.

After making his acting debut in Bollywood with the 1978 drama Gaman, Patekar acted in a few Marathi films and some Bollywood films. After starring in the Academy Award-nominated Salaam Bombay in 1988, he won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the crime drama Parinda (1989). He then starred his directorial debut, Prahaar: The Final Attack (1991). Patekar subsequently starred in and received critical acclaim for his performance in several commercially successful films of the 1990s, including Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992); Angaar (1992), for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Villain; Tirangaa (1993); Krantiveer (1994), for which he won the National Film Award for Best Actor and the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Further acclaim came his way for Agni Sakshi (1996), for which he won his second National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor; and Khamoshi: The Musical (1996).

During the early 2000s, he received praise for his performances in Shakti: The Power (2002), Ab Tak Chhappan (2004) and Apaharan (2005); the latter of which earned him his second Filmfare Award for Best Villain, and Taxi No. 9211 (2006). Patekar received widespread praise for playing a good-hearted gangster Uday Shetty in the comedy Welcome (2007) and its sequel Welcome Back (2015), and a politician in the political thriller Raajneeti (2010). In 2016, he starred in the critically and commercially successful Marathi film Natsamrat; in which he portrayed a retired stage actor. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Marathi) for his performance in the film.

Nana Patekar was born Vishwanath Patekar, into a Marathi family in Murud-Janjira, in the present-day Raigad District, Maharashtra. He is an alumnus of the Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art, Mumbai.

Patekar made his debut with Gaman (1978), Maficha Sakshidar (Marathi 1986), after which he did several small roles in Marathi cinema. He portrayed Nathuram Godse in the British television series Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy (1986). He also played notable roles in Aaj Ki Awaz (1984), Ankush (1986), Pratighaat (1987), Andha Yudh (1987), Mohre (1987), Trishagni (1988), Awam (1987) and Sagar Sangam (1988). His performance in Andha Yudh earned him his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

During this period, his performance in Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay! (1988) earned him high praise. He also received widespread critical acclaim for his portrayal of a crime lord in the crime drama Parinda (1989), which earned him his first National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor and his first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

He then turned director for his film Prahaar: The Final Attack (1991), co-starring Madhuri Dixit, for which he underwent training for his role as an Indian Army officer. His role in Angaar (1992) earned him his first Filmfare Award for Best Villain. He co-starred alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Amrita Singh in the romantic comedy Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992) and alongside industry veteran Raaj Kumar in Tirangaa (1993), both of which earned him two consecutive nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He played a truant, gambling son in Krantiveer (1994), for which he won the National Film Award for Best Actor, the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and the Screen Award for Best Actor. Patekar portrayed a ghost in the children's film Abhay (1994), post which he co-starred with Rishi Kapoor in Hum Dono (1995). He played a sadist husband in Agni Sakshi (1996), which earned him his second National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor, a deaf father to Manisha Koirala in Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), both of which earned him two nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor, a gangster in Ghulam-E-Mustafa (1997), an honest, but maverick cop in Yeshwant (1997) and a schizophrenic in Wajood (1998). He co-starred with Amitabh Bachchan in Kohram (1999), where he played an undercover Indian Army intelligence officer chasing Bachchan's incognito. His other notable films of this decade were Yugpurush (1998) and Hu Tu Tu (1999).

He starred with Aditya Pancholi as the CBI director in the crime drama Tarkieb (2000). After a hiatus of a year he returned to acting in Shakti: The Power (2002) in which he played an extremely violent father, which earned him his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Villain. In Ab Tak Chhappan (2004), he played a police officer who is an encounter specialist. His performance in Apaharan (2005) earned him his second Filmfare Award for Best Villain as well as the Screen Award for Best Villain. He played a taxi driver in Taxi No. 9211 (2006) opposite John Abraham. Taxi No. 9211 was a box office success, and both Patekar and Abraham were praised for their chemistry.