In an industry where multi-star cameos are often treated like packaging, Subedaar took a different route. Nana Patekar’s surprise appearance in the 2026 action-drama was short, quiet and personal — the result of a bond rather than a negotiation.
Director Suresh Triveni, who brought Patekar on board as Lance Naik Nana Waghmare, says the veteran actor said yes immediately and made the reason simple.
“Main yeh karunga toh Anil ke liye karunga”
— “If I do this, I’ll do it for Anil.”
Triveni calls the appearance honorary. Instead of travelling to the film’s Chambal locations, the team shot in Mumbai at JW Marriott while Patekar was already filming Vishal Bhardwaj’s O Romeo.
The shoot in numbers
- Role: Lance Naik Nana Waghmare
- Location: JW Marriott, Mumbai
- Duration: two and a half hours
- Parallel project: O Romeo
Patekar had his own dabba on set and ate while talking to the director. Food, Triveni says, was a subject he loved. For the VFX, he had to stand on a raised surface. And when it came to handling the gun like the soldier he was playing, he shut the lesson down quickly.
“Yeh mujhe mat sikha main jaanta hoon”
— “Don’t teach me this, I know it.”
Why the cameo works
For Triveni, seeing Patekar with Anil Kapoor was a bucket-list moment. Anil Kapoor gave cues even though he wasn’t required for the frame. The scene returns in the climax, and the director says many people reached out, surprised by the callback.
The original idea was to pack the moment with multiple cameos. Once Patekar agreed, Triveni felt one Nana Patekar was equivalent to many. It’s a useful reframe for special appearances: a short, emotionally connected appearance can carry more weight than a long list of familiar faces.
For celebrity watchers, that context turns a quick sighting into a fuller picture — not just who appeared in the film, but why. The climax beat was not random. It was designed around one iconic face, one old equation and one very efficient shoot.
Source: Hindustan Times
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