Nana Patekar reveals why he turned down Leo DiCaprio-starrer ‘Body Of Lies’

Nana Patekar. Pic/Yogen Shah

Veteran actor Nana Patekar was offered a role in Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio-starrer ‘Body Of Lies'. However, he declined it because he did not like the role that was offered to him.

‘Body of Lies' is a 2008 American spy action thriller film directed and produced by Ridley Scott starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe in the lead roles.

Set in the Middle East, it follows the attempts of the CIA and the GID of Jordan to catch "al-Saleem", a terrorist. Frustrated by their target's elusiveness, differences in their approaches strain relations between a CIA operative, his superior, and the head of Jordanian Intelligence.

Asked in a media chat why he said no to Hollywood movies even though offers kept coming his way, Nana said: "It was because I did not have confidence about delivering the dialogues in English. I don't have that fluency. I could have memorised that and done that anyway."

"But the roles that were offered, I did not like them. I can't play a terrorist. People who follow my work or love me see me playing that I wouldn't like. It was in Leonardo DiCaprio's film ‘Body Of Lies'..."

He then went on to speak about a film titled ‘The Pool', which was released in 2007. The story revolves around a young janitor working at a hotel in the port city of Panjim, who sees from his perch in a mango tree a luxuriant garden and shimmering pool hidden behind a wall. In making whatever efforts he can to better himself, Venkatesh offers his services to the wealthy owner of the home. Not content to simply dream about a different life, Venkatesh is inquisitive about the home's inhabitants and his curiosity changes the shape of his future.

"I had done a film called The Pool, they did the shooting. They knew Anurag Kashyap and they said they wanted a face like this for the actor… So he showed me my face… Then that person came to meet and asked me if I would do… I asked how many days of shoot to which he said 7-8 days. I said yes and forgot about it. They were waiting…"

He added: "Then we shot the film in 10 days. They did not have the money to pay. I said it's okay. This film worked. It was all hand held… That film won the Best Critic Award at the Sundance Film Festival…"

Nana will next be seen in Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri's ‘The Vaccine War'. The film is based on India's battle against Covid-19, and the efforts the medical department took to overcome the global crisis.

It is slated to release on September 28.

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