PUNE: Actor Nana Patekar on Saturday defended NCP MP Amol Kolhe who is facing flak for playing Nathuram Godse in an upcoming film, saying an artiste has the right to choose a role.
He himself had essayed the role of Mahatma Gandhi's assassin in a TV series many years ago, he reminisced.
"Kolhe did that role when he was in another party, and (NCP chief) Sharad Pawar has said this earlier. Not many people know this, but I had played Nathuram Godse around 30 years ago in (British TV series) "Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy"," Patekar told reporters here.
"Does it mean that I support the (character's) thoughts? I am an artiste, and got the role. It's an artiste's choice. When one supports that character's ideology, then questions can be asked, but for an artiste, it is his bread and butter," he added.
In the film "Why I Killed Gandhi", directed by Ashok Tyagi, Kolhe, an actor-politician, will be seen as Gandhi's assassin.
The film was shot in 2017.
Kolhe, who started his political innings with the Shiv Sena, joined the NCP in 2019.