Tirangaa was one of the blockbuster films of Bollywood, which was released at the time of Bombay bombings in 1993. It was written by KK Singh and directed by Mehul Kumar. The film starred Raaj Kumar and Nana Patekar in the lead roles. The performance of the duo was appreciated by the critics and the audiences. The song Pee Le Pee Le is one of the evergreen songs which was released in this film. The chemistry of the lead actors which appeared to be remarkable in this film was not so good during the time of the shoot, revealed Mehul Kumar. Fans will be shocked to know that Nana Patekar was not the first choice of the makers for the film. It was Rajinikanth.
In a YouTube interview, Mehul Kumar said that the film demanded two heroes. Actor Raaj Kumar was already selected for the role of Brigadier Suryadev Singh. Due to this, no actor was ready for the film as Raaj Kumar was quite infamous for his notorious attitude on the sets. Mehul Kumar said that his first choice for the role of Inspector Shivajirao Waghle was Rajinikanth. He flatly refused to do the film. Mehul said that he went to Chenniai to narrate the script of the film to superstar Rajinikanth. While the actor liked the script of the film, he flatly refused the proposal due to his inability to work with someone unpredictable like Raaj Kumar. The director then went to Naseeruddin Shah, who too rejected the film.
After someone suggested the name of Nana Patekar, who was garnering headlines with the film Parindey, Mehul Kumar approached him for the role of Inspector Shivajirao Waghle. He too refused the film at first by saying that he was not interested in working in commercial films. In a bid to convince Nana Patekar, Mehul Kumar said “Listen, unless you do commercial films, nobody is going to know who you are.” Mehul said in the interview, “At that time, arthouse movies wouldn’t even be released outside of Mumbai. I told him to listen to the story before making a decision, and he called me over the next day. He liked the story, but he had a condition”.
Nana Patekar said that if Raaj Kumar interfered then he would walk off the set and won’t return. Raaj Kumar was also hesitant to work with Nana Patekar at first. He called him a hot-tempered man. Mehul Kumar later sorted things out to make the film work. He also admitted that the duo later became friends during the shoot of the film.
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