Nana Patekar to play Umaji Naik in Marathi flick

Actor Nana Patekar will essay the character of the revolutionary Umaji Naik, who was the first freedom fighter to be hanged by the British, in the upcoming Marathi flick.

Announcing the venture, Jayprakash Ghumatkar, whose previous movie based on blind faith had created quite a sensation, told reporters that Nana Patekar would be playing the character of Naik, a nineteenth century dacoit from Ramoshi community who became revolutionary to fight against the Raj.

As per PTI, Ghumatkar said Umaji Naik Khomane (September 7, 1791 - February 3, 1832) had raised a small army against the British after the fall of the Maratha empire. "His anti-British manifesto had appealed to the fellow country-men to fight against the foreign rulers. To capture him, the British Government had announced a bounty of Rs 5,000," the director said. Umaji was subsequently captured and hanged in Pune. "Mine would be a low-budget film unlike other big ticket Marathi films," Ghumatkar said.