Anant Nag returns to Bollywood after two-decade absence

Anant Nag might have started his acting career with Shyam Benegal's National Award-winning films like Ankur, Bhumika and Manthan, but eventually he preferred to stick to his Kannada roots. However, after a gap of 20 years, he's appearing in a rather substantial role in Sandeep Malani's upcoming film Janleva 555.

Over the years, the 64-year-old veteran was seen portraying relatively smaller part in Hindi films including Mani Ratnam's Yuva. In fact, his last major act in a Bollywood project was in Ram Gopal Varma's Raat back in 1992. He also recently appeared in Amol Palekar's Marathi feature Anahat as well as in the English film Stumble.

Sandeep who was the associate director of the Anant-starrer Kannada film Manasella Neene feels it's an honour to have him in his debut Hindi directorial venture. "When I narrated the subject to him, he immediately agreed. Actually it's very difficult to convince an actor of his calibre because he doesn't accept anything you put out on the table. Fortunately, he loved the concept and immediately said yes," adds the 40-year-old filmmaker.

However, the Bangalore-based actor remained unavailable for comment but his spokesperson says, "Anant agreed to play the character of a holistic healer in this film because he felt that the role was full-fledged and challenge. He's a stickler for perfection. During the shoot, although he was superb in the first take itself, he repeatedly requested two more takes to make it better."u00a0