Nana Patekar praises Prakash Jha to heavens

One constantly keeps reading about the blow hot and cold relationship between thick friends Prakash Jha and Nana Patekar. During the shooting of Raajneeti in Bhopal, Nana and Jha reportedly had a massive showdown. Very recently, prior to the release of Raajneeti, there was talk that Nana felt cheated (about his role in the film) and decided to give the cast-n-crew screening a miss. But is the on-off friendship a reality or a figment of the media's over-active imagination?

On Friday, when Raajneeti opened to a thunderous response across the length and breadth of the country, an elated Nana couldn't control his emotions, when he spoke to this writer. "I never doubted Prakash's intentions while making the film. He deserves the credit for making it exactly the way he had envisioned it. I strongly feel that Raajneeti is not a film that would fetch a great start and fizzle out. This movie has long legs," Nana tells me.

Surprisingly, Nana hasn't watched the film yet, at least till the day the film opened. "Main kahan apni filmein dekhta hoon? But I must admit, my cellphone has been ringing non-stop from Wednesday/Thursday onwards, after people watched the film in select screenings. Hamara kaam hain director ke aadesh ka paalan karna. If he expects a certain performance from you, you need to deliver, come what may. So whatever praise coming my way should be directed towards Prakash Jha. He's the real hero of Raajneeti," Nana states with utmost modesty.