‘Nana walks like Gary Cooper’

Filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia, who made Haasil with Jimmy Sheirgill and Irfan Khan based on campus politics in UP, is mighty impressed with Nana Patekar, who plays a stern policeman in his upcoming film Shagird.

Filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia, who made Haasil with Jimmy Sheirgill and Irfan Khan based on campus politics in UP, is mighty impressed with Nana Patekar, who plays a stern policeman in his upcoming film Shagird.

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Apparently, Dhulia was adamant that Nana should play ACP Hanumant Singh. The director wasn’t willing to consider another actor for the part. When asked, he admits and points out that Nana Patekar’s body language is pretty similar to actor Gary Cooper. “You should see Nana walking. It’s exactly like Gary Copper. The attitude is the same. Nana had everything I wanted Hanumant Singh to have. The role fit him like a Tese. Or maybe it was the other way round.”

Shagird toplines other actors like Mohit Ahlawat (debuted in Ram Gopal Varma’s James), Zakir Hussain, Rimi Sen, and filmmaker-turned-actor Anurag Kashyap.