As Krantiveer completes 30 years of its release on July 22, here is a look at some interesting facts about the Nana Patekar-starrer superhit film.
Directed by Mehul Kumar, Krantiveer was released in the theatres on July 22, 1994. The action crime drama was headlined by Nana Patekar and also starred Dimple Kapadia, Atul Agnihotri, Mamta Kulkarni, Farida Jalal, Paresh Rawal, Tinu Anand, and Danny Denzongpa. As Krantiveer completes 30 years of its release, here's a look at some interesting facts about the superhit film.
1. Nana Patekar won National Award for Best Actor for Krantiveer
Nana Patekar won his sole National Film Award for Best Actor for his brilliant performance as Pratap Narayan Tilak in Krantiveer. The actor has won two other Natonal Film Awards, but they have been for Best Supporting Actor for Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Parinda and Partho Ghosh's Agni Sakshi.
2. Krantiveer was rejected by Sridevi and Kajol
As per IMDb, the role of Megha Dixit was first offered to Sridevi, who rejected the film, and it was finally played by Dimple Kapadia. Similarly, Mamta's role was first offered to Kajol, who declined it, and it went to Mamta Kulkarni. Kulkarni had previously worked with Mehul Kumar and Nana Patekar in the 1993 film Tirangaa.
3. Distributors wanted to back out because of Nana Patekar
Since Nana Patekar was playing the solo lead role in a mainstream commercial film for the first time, some distributors intially wanted to back out of the film. Director Mehul Kumar assured them that he would bear their losses if Krantiveer fails at the box office. The same distributors happily accepted to associate themselves with the film after watching it in trial shows. The film went on to become a superhit and earned around 9.35 crore net in India with a budget of Rs 3 crore, as per the entertainment tracking portal Box Office India.
4. Nana Patekar's monologue in Krantiveer's climax was never written
The last scene of the film, in which Nata Patekar gives out a monologue with the impactful dialogue, "Aa gaye meri maut ka tamasha dekhne (You all have come now to see my death)", is still remembered today. In a recent interview with The Lallantop, the actor revealed that the scene was never written and his monologue was all impromptu. He said, "I just said it, the whole dialogue. Now, if you will ask me, I will not remember a single word I blurted out that day."
5. Krantiveer's sequel was huge flop
The sequel of Krantiveer titled Krantiveer: The Revolution was released in 2010. Directed by Mehul Kumar and featuring Jahan Baloch, Samir Aftab, and late Aditya Rajput, the film was a huge flop at the box office as it earned just Rs 71 lakh in India, as per the entertainment tracking portal Box Office India.