When Nana Patekar Put Acting Career On Hold, Joined Army During Kargil War

Mumbai : At the height of the Kargil War in 1999, Nana Patekar put his acting career on hold and sought permission to join the Indian Army at the war front, a chapter of his life that the veteran actor recalled years later during his appearance on “Kaun Banega Crorepati”.

Patekar, who died on Thursday at the age of 76 due to cardiac arrest in Goa, had rigourously trained with armed forces for his 1991 movie “Prahaar: The Final Attack”, in which he essayed the role of Major VS Chavan.

He trained with the Maratha Light Infantry for three years for the film, which he had also written and directed.

When the Kargil conflict broke out, Patekar approached senior army officers with a request to join the troops but was told that such permission could only be granted by the Defence Minister.

“I knew our Defence Minister George Fernandes ji, so I called him. Even he said it was impossible,” Patekar told megastar Amitabh Bachchan when he appeared on KBC in August 2024 when he was promoting the movie “Vanvaas”.

“I told him, ‘Commission toh six months mein hota hai, maine toh teen saal guzaare hain.’ He asked where, and I told him about my experience with the Maratha Light Infantry. Then he asked, ‘Kab jaana chahte ho?’ I told him, ‘Today.'”

The actor eventually received permission and travelled to the Kargil conflict zone in August 1999, where he spent time with Army personnel near the Line of Control.

Patekar said he spent around 60 days with the troops during the conflict, travelling to places including Dras, Leh, Kupwara, Baramulla and Sopore.

“I was 76 kg when I reached Srinagar. By the time I came back, I was 56 kg,” he recalled.

He said he was eventually a part of a Quick Reaction Team (QRT) and later helped at a military hospital in Srinagar.

“There, the bodies of martyred soldiers were brought in. It was deeply distressing, as many of the bodies were in a bad state. The mortal remains were carefully made presentable before being sent back to their hometowns. I worked there for six days.

“One day, I was roaming in the ward and one person shouted from behind, ‘Hey Nana.’ I knew that person and he was draped in a long sheet. I touched him and he was burning. He told me he had fever for past 4 days. He wanted go to back to battlefield but couldn’t. He then showed that his legs were cut off,” he recounted.

For Patekar, it as an act of heroism but service to country.

“I tell this to all actors. You have your own share of joys and sorrows in life. Keep performing from that space. Unless your definition of happiness and sorrow keeps changing, you won’t be able to sustain yourself for long.

“Go out and look around; there are all kinds of sorrows and joys. But your perception of happiness and sorrow should change,” he said. (PTI)