The trailer launch of Pratap, an encounter-specialist drama, was meant to introduce a new action story. Instead, Seema Biswas’s tribute to Nana Patekar became the moment people will remember. She told the audience that her last day of shooting with the late actor was 29 June, on the set of Shakti Shalini.
A launch that invited a comparison
Because Pratap centres on an encounter specialist, the room kept returning to Ab Tak Chhappan (2004), the Nana Patekar film that still defines the genre for many viewers. The new film stars Amit Sadh and Esha Deol, with Milind Gunaji also in attendance. Writer-director Sachin Saraf and producer Pradeep Rangwani were present as the team confirmed that Pratap will release in cinemas on 20 November.
Seema Biswas, who worked with Patekar in Khamoshi (1996), said she is still not able to believe that “Nana sir is no longer with us.” The grief was not an act for the cameras: for three days after his passing, she said, she stayed silent.
Khamoshi, sign language, and a quiet rewrite
Her sharpest story concerned Khamoshi, one of her first films. She would visit Patekar’s home to learn sign language, and their creative discussions and arguments often led to script tweaks. In one sign-language scene, the words she had to convey dil ko nahin lag rahe the—they were not landing emotionally. The dialogue was unchanged until she complained, and then the writer returned with exactly the scene she wanted. “The writer told me that it was Nana ji who made the required changes,” Biswas said.
She also recalled his unusual fitness and ease:
- On set, he would walk around shirtless, in a lungi and pagdi, and looked so fit that she thought she was ekdum naalayak beside him.
- He cooked for the unit and teased her in Bengali about eating mutton.
- Off-screen, she said, he lived like an aam aadmi, approachable despite his larger-than-life screen presence.
Why it matters for Hindi cinema’s record
The encounter-specialist genre carries Nana Patekar’s imprint, and any new entry will be measured against Ab Tak Chhappan. That is not a burden Pratap can avoid; it is part of the film’s context. For readers who track cinema history, Biswas also added a small production detail to the record of Khamoshi: a sign-language scene was improved quietly by a co-star, not the credited writer.
What to watch next
Pratap arrives on 20 November. Shakti Shalini, the project Biswas last filmed with Patekar, belongs to the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe and features Aneet Padda of Saiyaara (2025). For Patekar’s admirers, that release has now acquired a heavier meaning.
Source: Bollywood Hungama
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