Dilip Kumar said he had ‘hangover’ after watching Krantiveer: ‘Tell Nana Patekar, he is stuck with this label for the rest of his life’

Before Krantiveer, Nana had mainly played negative characters in films and this was the first time he was playing the role of a protagonist. Naturally, the distributors were worried about his ability to draw the audience to theatres, some even refused to give money for the film. “Two distributors of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh refused to back the film. They told me, ‘Who will come to watch Nana?’ They were worried that the film was completely shouldered by Nana with no major star in it. But I explained to them that I took Nana because he is apt for this role.” Later, the distributors gave Mehul the signing amount with a promise that if they didn’t like the film, he would return the money to them.

Though distributors doubted Nana, the actor never questioned his own dedication towards this project. During the interaction, Mehul Kumar shared that the actor shot the climax of the film while being sick. He shared, “Nana got ill suddenly and he was admitted to a hospital, and by that time we had finalised the climax and we had built a set at the Film City. Nana was worried that if something happened to him, the film would be left unfinished. He asked me if he could finish the climax scene in one day. I agreed to it and I told him that I would set up four cameras on the set. He told me not to cancel the shoot and reached the set with a doctor. Everyone was worried about his health. Danny Denzongpa even told me to cancel the shoot and I explained to him that I was ready to cancel it but Nana isn’t agreeing to it. I gave Nana the dialogue and he asked for an hour to prepare. He delivered the scene. Nobody would believe that we shot the climax of the film in one day.”

Krantiveer was a major hit in 1994 and received praise from many big names in the film industry, including Dilip Kumar. Sharing the same, Mehul said, “Dilip Kumar saw the film in the theatre and asked me to sit with him. He said, ‘You have made such a film that I still have a hangover. I watched Mother India in the same theatre and told Nargis that Mother India’s label will forever be with her. After watching Krantiveer, I feel this film’s label will forever be with Nana Patekar.'”