Interview | Nana Patekar on The Vaccine War: Even if I was offered Rs 1, I would do this role

Nana Patekar is one of the most versatile, finest and influential actors in Indian cinema. In a career spanning decades, the formidable actor has left his fans impressed with his trail-blazing performances every time he has returned to the screen with a new role. Whether the portrayal of the dark character Narsimha in Shakti or the quirky Don Udai Shetty in the comedy-drama Welcome, he has always captivated audiences with his unique charm.

After a gap of almost five years, Nana Patekar is returning to the big screen with The Vaccine War, a project of The Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri. In the film, Patekar plays the role of Dr. Balram Bhargava. In a media interaction held in New Delhi, Nana responded to questions by WION's Pragati Awasthi. He discussed why he decided to play the role of Bhargava, his working experience with Vivek, and why he declined a role in Leonardo Di Caprio's film, Body of Lies.

Read the edited excerpts from the chat below:

WION: You are doing a film after almost five years. So why did you choose to play the role of Prof Balram Bhargava?

Nana Patekar: I kept on searching for the heroes in the police and in the army. But we didn't know anything about [the scientists behind the made-in-India Covid vaccine, Covaxin]. I came to know about their story after listening to their script, and I thought that this story should be made public. When it came to fees that we generally take, they said they don't have that sort of money to pay me. So, keeping aside everything, I said that even if you would give me Rs 1, or even if you would not pay me, I would also work and play this role, and this story should come in front of people. We've all been through the COVID-19 pandemic, and we should know who were the people who put their lives in danger for the rest of us. And I think that this movie is the story of our Indian women and how empowered they are.

Balram Bhargava was the head of the team, however, the whole hard work was put in by the woman of the team.

WION: In the trailer, we saw your character in stress, confusion, and what scientists have gone through in the past. So, anything you came to know while shooting about the scientist's struggles that stuck with you?

Nana Patekar: The whole script was very new; we were not aware of anything mentioned in the script. The truth is, I can't express it. However, in another film that I worked on previously, I got hang of the scripts while I wrote them down. But, in the Vaccine War script, there was no chance. Because it was such research-oriented material. Honestly, I don't have that much knowledge. So, I simply asked the makers to tell me what to do. However, Vivek Agnihotri [director] asked me, 'Would you like to meet Balram Bhargava?' I said 'no', because then there would be a reimpression. And, if I had six or seven months, then I would have regularly met him and gotten a hangs of all his things, like how he thinks and what his thoughts were behind doing all of this vaccine work...these were some of the things that I could have incorporated into me, but we don't have that much time. So I asked Vivek if I would meet him later, but for now, you can explain to me because you have met him.

A few days ago, we kept a show for him [Balram Bhargava], and all the scientists were there. After watching the film, he came with teary eyes and asked me, 'You have never met or talked to me, but how did you play my role so realistically?' Replying to him, I said, all credit goes to Vivek, and I did nothing.

WION: At the trailer launch, Vivek said that he was warned about his idea of casting you, saying that you are very strict on set and many other things. Why is it?

Nana Patekar: I'm not strict. But I have a habit of interfering, shouting, and so on. See, if you have provided me with the correct work, then there is no need for me to shout. But if you have given me something wrong, I will definitely shout. But during the Vaccine War, I actually didn't get a chance to point out anything wrong. While I was preparing for the role, my whole room was full of handwritten papers. Because it's quite a verbose film, and there are so many technical terms in the film. Like schooltime, I used to write it down once and then learn how to pronounce it. So, this is how I used to do it.

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WION: How was your experience working with Vivek Agnihotri, and have you watched his film, The Kashmir Files?

Nana Patekar: It was a very good experience working with him. He [Vivek Agnihotri] is very hyper, there is no synchronisation between his mind and mouth. He's such a nice soul, but one of those totally obsessed directors. On set, he doesn't want to eat, doesn't want to drink, and is totally focused on his work.

No, I never watched The Kashmir Files or any of his [Vivek Agnihotri] work. The reason behind this was that I would get a grasp of how he works, and I didn't want to get into that, so I didn't want to set anything in my mind.

WION: You have declined many big Hollywood projects. Why?

Nana Patekar: The reason behind saying no was that I didn't have that confidence in speaking English, and whether I would be able to deliver the course, I didn't have that fluency. I would have done it, but the main reason was the kind of role they were offering. I can't play a terrorist if my fans, even kids who love me, see me doing the role like this or follow me. It doesn't feel right to me. The film was Body of Lies, and Leonardo Di Caprio was in it. But it doesn't feel right.

But I did one film titled The Pool. There was a film unit that came to shoot and approached [director] Anurag Kashyap, showed him a cutout of mine, and said that they wanted an actor like this. Kashyap told them that they would not be able to afford me, and told them: 'He takes a huge fees'. However, he came and asked me whether I would do this role or not. I asked them how many days they wanted, and everything went smoothly. However, I forgot the shoot date and went back to my village in Pune. I got the call, and I quickly rushed back to the shoot. In 10 days, we completed the shoot, and they didn't have that much money to pay me. Nevertheless, we did it. The film won Best Critics awards at the Sundance Film Festival, and I was invited there, but I didn't visit.

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