?Shooting can fetch us Olympic gold?

NOTED ACTOR Nana Patekar, who is here as a sportsman, has said that shooting is the only sport event which can fetch India a gold medal at the Olympics.

Patekar who arrived here on Tuesday afternoon will be participating in the 16th G V Mavlankar Shooting Championship as a member of the Maharashtra rifle shooting team, to be held at the CR-1 shooting range of Infantry School from January 17 to 21.

Patekar will be participating in the peep sight 300 metre big bore rifle event. Very fond of shooting, he participates in a competition every year and also has made a 50-metre range at his farmhouse in the village Seemagarh near Pune in Maharashtra.

While practicing with a Tanner 0.308 Switzerland rifle provided to him by Army Marksmanship Unit, Mhow, he spoke to Hindustan Times about shooting – both behind the rifle and in front of the camera — and also other aspects of life. 

Patekar feels that future of shooting is very bright. However he felt both the Central and State governments were not serious in promoting this sport. He however lauded the Army, which is doing everything and whatever is the state of shooting in the country today is just because of the army.

He said that shooting is a very expensive sport and is unaffordable even for many people from the upper class but for him shooting is ‘Sadhna’ (devotion) and a game of concentration. “When we focus on the targets in shooting, the quality of focusing on other things gets developed”, he said.

On how he takes out time despite such a busy schedule, he said that it is only perception. Anybody can take out time to do the things of his interest or hobby. “Neither shooting nor films are my occupation and I don’t work in the films for money alone. I work in any film if it is based on solving problems of the country,” he said.

Asked to comment on social evils like corruption, crime and red-tapism, he said he is also a part of the society and tries to build a consensus against all these evils through his films.

Answering a question whether he plans to enter politics, Patekar’s answer had a ‘Na Na’ tone. “Politicians compromise on everything and everywhere for a number of reasons. And I can’t do that so there is no question of becoming a political leader.”