Bollywood's ugliest fight: Director starved National Award winner, denied food, tore their clothes, star cried on set

Director-producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who delivered the sleeper hit 12th Fail last year, shared a story from his cult-classic Parinda. In the video, Vidhu Vinod Chopra said that the fight started because Nana Patekar had asked for food from the production.

Considering Parinda was made on a shoestring budget, and everybody had to bring the lunch from their home, the director found this a bit odd, and he asked Nana Patekar, "Ghar se nahi laaya? (You didn't bring it from home)."

The altercation soon escalated with both of them hurling profanities against each other. Vidhu Vinod Chopra tore the actor's kurta which he was supposed to wear in the next scene. At that moment, the cinematographer of the film Binod Pradhan told the team that the shot was ready, and he called for a take.

The director then went to his chair to record the scene. As Nana Patekar's kurta was torn, he had to wear a vest in the scene. In fact, the tears that the audience sees in that scene are real because the actor was crying. Parinda, which was released in 1989, also starred Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit. The film has gained a cult status over the years for its storytelling, and its performances.

Vidhu conceived the idea for the film after his earlier film Khamosh didn't get distributors. He wrote Parinda out of anger with the scene about two brothers in their childhood when the younger one says that he is starving, to which the elder brother responds, "Rota kyun karta hai? Main hoon na (Why do you cry? I'm here for you)."

It was a clever reflection of mainstream and parallel cinema as the parallel cinema often doesn't find takers, and is left to starve and fend for itself. Vidhu wanted to make a commercial film and showcased in the first scene how mainstream cinema often comes to the rescue of Indie cinema.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from IANS

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