Madhu recalls Nana Patekar’s unexpected slap on the sets of ‘Yashwant’: I hit him in response
Madhu Shah recalls an intense moment on the sets of ‘Yashwant’, revealing that she slapped Nana Patekar after he unexpectedly hit her during an emotional scene.
Actor Madhu Shah has revealed about an intense moment from the sets of the 1997 film Yashwant. He revealed that he instinctively slapped Nana Patekar after he hit her unexpectedly during a scene. Recalling the incident, Madhu said that the veteran actor’s commitment to realism often pushed him beyond his comfort zone and ultimately influenced his approach towards acting.
in an interview with hindi rushMadhu talks about working with Nana and how his way of performing had a lasting impact on her.
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“With Nana Patekar, I became a method actor. There was a scene where I had to use glycerine. He didn’t let me use it. He was like, ‘Feel it, you have to have natural tears.’ But I couldn’t do that. Then what he did was literally like slapping me. He slapped me so hard that naturally I had tears in my eyes,” she said.
The actor admitted that the slap completely surprised him as it was not a part of his rehearsals.
Madhu said she was angry after the incident and reacted instinctively.
She further added, “I was extremely angry at him because we had rehearsed and he had not done anything like that. His sudden slap shocked me. And I am so angry that I slapped him. He hit me and my reaction was to hit him back.”
Despite the unexpected exchange, Madhu believes that the intensity of that moment ultimately benefited the scene.
He recalled that this was one of the most important scenes Yashwant And director Anil Mattoo had allotted an entire day to film it. However, since the emotions felt genuine and the scene unfolded naturally, the shooting was completed in half the scheduled time.
According to Madhu, Nana felt there was nothing more to add after the take and considered the sequence complete. He also credited the experience for changing his perspective on performing and said it helped him embrace aspects of method acting.
The actor further clarified that Nana never behaved rude or hostile towards him on the sets. He explained that his criticism was generally aimed at improving his performance and helping him remain immersed in the character.
Madhu said that she often objected when she used glycerine for emotional scenes or went out of character immediately after the shot.
While he described himself as a “switch-on, switch-off” performer, he said that Nana believed that actors should continue to live the emotions of their characters throughout the filming process.
Directed by Anil Mattu, Yashwant Nana Patekar was in the lead role along with Madhu and Atul Agnihotri. The film follows the story of an honest undercover narcotics officer whose integrity and principles bring him into conflict with a powerful drug mafia, as well as his efforts to support his wife Ragini’s ambitions to become a Deputy Collector.