India, Oct. 9 -- Filmmaker Mehul Kumar, who directed Nana Patekar in Tirangaa (1993), Krantiveer (1994) and Kohram (1999), had been planning a fourth film with the actor, titled Mission Tiranga, for 2027. Recalling their final meeting at a film premiere, Kumar says, "We were sitting together and staying at the same hotel. He asked me, 'Mehul, come tomorrow morning. We will sit and talk.' We spent an hour talking about Mission Tiranga, my fourth ambitious project with him." "Nana had already agreed to do it anytime, and we were set to roll it out in 2027. It wasn't a sequel, but a story centred entirely around him. Now, my mission is incomplete without him," he adds. Their association began with Tirangaa, which brought Patekar and veteran actor Raaj Kumar together. "People used to say that this film would never be complete," Kumar recalls and adds, "but it became a super hit." While they reunited for Kohram, alongside actor Amitabh Bachchan, Kumar considers Krantiveer their defining collaboration. "Distributors initially questioned the decision to cast Nana in a solo lead, but I was sure. I told them, 'I am not making a film with just any hero. This film was written for Nana. He was in my mind and character, and only he could do this.'" Kumar also remembers Patekar laying down one condition before shooting Tirangaa. "'See Mehul, I have just one condition. I am working with Rajkumar for the first time, and I don't want any interference in my scenes'." The filmmaker assured him there would be none, and the shoot went smoothly. "He always brought something of his own to the table as an actor that made his characters unforgettable. He understood acting in a way few do," Kumar says. For him, Mission Tiranga cannot be made without Patekar. "Nobody can fill his shoes. You cannot give his roles to anyone else. Even the title Mission Tiranga cannot be used for anyone else. Tiranga and Krantiveer can never be remade; they are legendary films."...