When Rajinikanth declined working with Raaj Kumar in Tirangaa

When Rajinikanth declined working with Raaj Kumar in Tirangaa

Filmmaker Mehul Kumar who directed “Tirangaa” recalled how averse Raaj Kumar and Nana Patekar were about working with each other. Earlier Rajinikanth had expressed his unwillingness to share screen space with Raaj Kumar.

In a media interaction Mehul Kumar who directed the 1993 patriotic action film Tirangaa, recalled how cautious actors Raaj Kumar and Nana Patekar were on working with each other. Both actors were notably averse while one was a veteran and the other relatively new to mainstream films. Amidst the interview, Mehul Kumar articulated that they were against any tantrums by the other.

Mehul Kumar while appearing on the Friday Talkies YouTube channel, said that though he had locked Raaj Kumar for the central role in the film , he couldn’t find the second lead and so he approached Rajinikanth. He liked the story but he wasn’t in a mood to work work unpredictable and tempermental actor Raaj Kumar. Thereafter he approached Naseeruddin Shah, who refused to work with Raaj Kumar.

Then someone suggested Nana Patekar, who had featured in the acclaimed film Parinda by then, but fancied himself an arthouse actor.

Mehul Kumar further added that aid, he called him up, but he said, he doesn’t do commercial films. But Mehul told him, that Nana will get recognition only if he works in commercial films.

At that time around, arthouse movies wouldn’t even be released outside Mumbai. He requested him to listen to the story before making a decision, and he called him (Mehul) over the next day. He liked the song, but he had a condition. He said, ‘If Raaj saab interferes, he will walk off the set, and won’t return to which Mehul told him no worries as he had worked with Raaj twice.

He continued, that when he told Raaj that he has locked Nana for the second lead, he said, Nana is a rowdy; he screams and shouts on set. He gets physical also.

Mehul Kumar further said that the shoot was completed without a hitch, but admitted that the two actors weren’t friendly with each other.

Nana Patekar recently admitted in an interview that his temper has often got the better of him and recalled a physical altercation he had on the sets of Parinda, with director Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who had once revealed that they came to blows at one point. Actor Prashant Narayanan, on the other hand, recalled a story about the animosity amid Raaj Kumar and Dilip Kumar on the sets of Saudagar.

News Edit K.V.Raman