Country comes first, actors later: Nana Patekar

Veteran actor Nana Patekar has waded into the debate whether Pakistani artistes should be banned from working in Bollywood, saying a country comes first and soldiers are its biggest heroes.

"Pakistani actors and everything come later, but first comes my country. I don't know anyone apart from my country and nor would I like to know anyone. Actors are Bedbugs in front of the nation. We don't have any worth," Patekar told reporters in Mumbai.

In the wake of Uri terror attack, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had asked Pakistani artistes like Fawad and Mahira Khan to leave India, failing which it had threatened to stall their film shoots.

They also demanded a ban on Pakistani artists working in the Indian film industry.

Subsequently, Indian Motion Pictures' Artists Association came out with a resolution to ban all Pakistani artists and technicians till the relations between the two neighbours normalises.

Bollywood has been divided on the issue of ban on Pakistani artistes. Superstar Salman Khan, Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap, Hansal Mehta, Om Puri and Nagesh Kukunoor are among the ones who have opposed the ban while celebrities like Randeep Hooda, Sonali Bendre have backed it.

When asked about this, Patekar said, "Soldiers are the biggest heroes. No one can be a bigger hero than them. We (celebrities) are ordinary, fake people. Don't give any importance to what we say. Do you get who I am referring to? Yes, I am talking about those people. They don't have that stature to get any importance."