Nana Patekar is renowned for his passionate acting and dedication to realism on cinema. Madhoo Shah remembered a scenario wherein the seasoned actor hit her during a take while she was working with him on the 1997 movie Yeshwant. The veteran actress, known for movies like Roja, Phool Aur Kaante said she was so taken aback by the moment that she instinctively slapped him back.
Madhoo Shah discussed working with Nana Patekar and how his performance style had a long-lasting effect on her in an interview with Pinkvilla's Hindi Rush.
'Nana Patekar Slapped Me For Real': Madhoo Shah
Madhoo Shah said, "With Nana Patekar, I became a method actor. There was a scene where I was supposed to use glycerin. He didn't let me use it. He was like, 'feel it, you should have natural tears'. But I couldn't do it. What he did then was slap me for real. He slapped me so hard that I naturally had tears in my eyes."
Madhoo Shah acknowledged that since the slap had not been a part of their training, she was totally unprepared for it. She claimed that after the encounter, she became enraged and acted on impulse. "I was extremely mad at him because we had done rehearsals and he hadn't done anything like that. His sudden slap shocked me. And I am so short-tempered that I slapped him back. He hit me and my reflex was to hit him back."
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Madhoo Shah thinks the sequence ultimately benefited from the intensity of the moment, despite the unexpected exchange. She recalled that director Anil Mattoo had set up a whole day to film it, and it was one of the most significant scenes in Yeshwant. However, the shot was finished in half the time allotted since the feelings were real and the scene happened organically.
Madhoo Shah went on to say that Nana Patekar never treated her badly or hostilely when they were working together. She clarified that his criticism was typically intended to help her maintain her persona and enhance her performance.
About Yeshwant
Yeshwant, which was directed by Anil Mattoo, starred Madhoo, Atul Agnihotri, and Nana Patekar in the key roles.
The movie chronicled the struggles of an honest undercover narcotics investigator to support his wife Ragini's aspirations to become a deputy collector while simultaneously focusing on his integrity and ideals, which put him at odds with a strong drug lord.