While watching James Haake as Sasha, I remembered brilliance of Ganpat Patil गणपत पाटील.
Next day Mr. Patil came visiting, on the front page of morning newspaper. He passed way on March 23, 2008 at Kolhapur कोल्हापूर.
Master Vinayak मास्टर विनायक onwards, Marathi cinema has given India some of the finest comic actors. Mr. Patil was one of the very best. He was a unique gift to Marathi cinema because Hindi cinema never had such a talented fag.
Ganpat Patil turned some of the most mundane scenes into the most hilarious ones by a gesture here and a dialogue there.
Leading men of Marathi cinema must be petrified by Mr. Patil's on-screen ability to make fun of any of them with so little effort.
I always envied his easy access to leading ladies of Marathi cinema. On screen, he slept next to them or slipped under the pallu of their sari without making anyone feel awkward! I thought it was all very sexy without being vulgar.
Mel Brooks says in “To Be or Not To Be”: “Without Jews, fags, and gypsies, there is no theater.”
Although in real life he was no fag, without Ganpat Patil it was as if there was no Marathi cinema.
(Picture courtesy- Pudhari पुढारी March 24, 2008)