No more sound and fury for Nana?

Gaurav Saigal in Varanasi

He is known as the troubled, angry man of the 1990s.

On location at the shooting of his latest film, Aanch, Nana Patekar is firm about his decision to quit celluloid forever as the angry revolutionary man of Hindi films.

Known for his unique style of acting right from N Chandra's Ankush, where he made his mark in the role of a violent young man, to recent ones that got him National Awards for Best Actor in Parinda (1990), Mehul Kumar's Krantiveer (1995) and Best Supporting Actor for Agnisakshi in 1996, the actor's second thoughts about acting on the silver screen are evident when he says, "It's lot of work. I should now withdraw from movies."

What next in store for this powerful actor? "I came from the theatre. I would prefer to spend more time there," Nana said. "Theatre has taught me a lot, and I am sure there will be a lot to learn," he added.

The actor also plans to go abroad with his popular Marathi play, Purush -- that is now attracting a bigger audience than the Hindi version opposite female protagonist Ayesha Jhulka. A political satire, Purush has Nana playing politician Gulabrao.

It is now scheduled for consecutive shows in different American cities starting April. "The play had over 1,860 succesful shows in the last 16 years. In Hindi, too, we have excellent response," said Nana.

"When I do get spare time, I would go back to my roots in my native village," says Nana. "I belong to the village and so will return to roots amongst other villagers to plough fields," he says. The said fields in particular, would be in Murund village, Raigarh district, coastal Goa.

What about politics? "No. Though I have maintained proximity with all political parties, politics is not my cup of tea; my mission to speak against all wrongs will continue," said Nana.

Nana is now shooting for Aanch, in different villages of eastern Uttar Pradesh. The film is based on the UP mileu.

Prompt him to talk about his favourite films, and Nana names Khamoshi first. Famous for his dialogue-heavy scripts, Khamoshi had him playing a deaf and mute character though known for dialogues, very unlike his roles. Nana says, "Khamoshi gave me the chance to prove that expressions can also say what dialogue could."

For now, there's under-production Aanch, with Ayesha Jhulka, Sharbani Mukherjee, Paresh Rawal and introducing Suchinder Bali (son of Vyjayanthimala Bali) , the film will hit the big screens in May 2001. Yet another, Vaadh, is also nearing completion with Puru Raaj Kumar, Anupama Verma, Meghna Kothari and Arun Bakshi.