Watch: Nana Patekar apologises for slapping a fan, says he confused him for crew boy

On Wednesday, Bollywood actor Nana Patekar landed himself in hot waters following the release of a video that shows the star slapping a fan for taking a selfie with him on set, as per Hindustan Times. Scores of social media users directed their outrage at the Parinda star, prompting Patekar to respond.

In a new video shared by ANI, Patekar explained that the incident occurred during a scene for his upcoming film, where he mistakenly believed the boy to be a crew member participating in the scene. However, he later discovered that the person was, in fact, a genuine fan.

“Namaskar. A video is going viral where I hit a boy. There is a sequence in the film where a boy comes from behind and says ‘Ae budhau, topi bechni hai (hey old man, do you want to sell your hat)?' and I catch him, smack him and ask him to behave properly and he runs away,” the actor said in the video.

Patekar further clarified, "Though this sequence is a part of our film, we had one rehearsal. We were scheduled to have a second rehearsal. The director told me to begin. We were about to begin when the boy in the video came in. I didn't know who he was, I thought he was one of our crew so I slapped him as per the scene and I told him to leave.”

The actor expressed his regrets, attributing the unfortunate incident to him confusing reality for film and expressed his intent to extend an apology to the boy. “Later, I came to know that he was not a part of the crew. So, I was going to call him back but he ran away. Maybe his friend shot the video. I have never said no to anybody for a photo. I don't do this...This happened by mistake,” Patekar insisted before appealing for forgiveness. “If there is some misunderstanding, please forgive me... I will never do anything like this."

Patekar’s apology has drawn mixed reactions with many pointing out the explanation offered earlier by the film’s director Anil Sharma, shortly after the video gained traction online. In conversation with PTI, Sharma rubbished the claims of Patekar striking someone in actuality and declared that the video is just a film scene, deliberately misconstrued.

The Gadar: Ek Prem Katha filmmaker stated, “He (Patekar) has not slapped anyone, it is a shot from our film. People have a problem of making fuss out of nothing. We are currently filming in Benaras for the film, Journey. Patekar's character has dementia in the film.”

Resounding the eerie similarity between the film’s shot and the alleged slapping encounter, he maintained, “His mind is disturbed and a guy comes to click a picture with him. There are so many people around us, who are here to watch the shoot. I think someone clicked this particular portion, which is actually one of the scenes from the film." Contrary to Sharma’s side, Patekar’s new video tells a different tale, infusing the episode with intrigue. 

The Angaar actor is set to continue filming for Journey in Varanasi for an additional two weeks. The film features Utkarsh Sharma, renowned for his role in Gadar 2. Formerly, Patekar was accused of sexual misconduct in 2018 by actor Tanushree Dutta during a film shoot alongside choreographer Ganesh Acharya and director Vivek Agnihotri, starting the #MeToo movement in India. In 2019, Bombay High Court cleared him of all charges citing ‘lack of evidence’.

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