hero in most of his films. His debut film was Gaman (1978), after which he did several small roles in Marathi cinema. He did the role of Nathuram Godse in the British television series Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy. He had notable roles in Aaj Ki Awaz (1984), Ankush (1986), Pratighaat (1987), Mohre (1987), Trishagni (1988), Awam (1987) and Sagar Sangam (1988). His performance in Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay! (1988) was praised. He was noticed by the mainstream Hindi Cinema for his portrayal of a crime lord in Parinda (1989), for which he won his first National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor and was also awarded the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. He turned director with his movie Prahaar (1991), co-starring Madhuri Dixit, for which he underwent training for his role as an Indian Army officer. His role in Angaar (1992) earned him the Filmfare Best Villain Award. He co-starred with industry veteran Raaj Kumar in Tirangaa (1993). He played a truant, gambling son in Krantiveer (1994), for which he won the National Film Award for Best Actor and also won the Filmfare Award and the Star Screen Awards. Patekar portrayed the character of a ghost in the children's film Abhay, which won two awards at the 42nd National Film Festival held in 1994. He co-starred with Rishi Kapoor in Hum Dono (1995). He played a sadist husband in Agni Sakshi (1996), a deaf father to Manisha Koirala in Khamoshi (1996), a gangster in Ghulam-E-Mustafa (1997), an honest, but maverick cop in Yeshwant (1997) and a schizophrenic in Wajood (1998). He co-starred with Amitabh Bachchan in Kohram (1999), where he played an undercover Indian Army intelligence officer chasing Bachchan's incognito. His other notable films of this decade were Yugpurush (1998) and Hu Tu Tu (1999). He starred with Aditya Pancholi as the CBI director in the crime drama Tarkieb (2000). After a hiatus of a year he returned to acting in Shakti (2002) in which he played an extremely violent father. In Ab Tak Chhappan (2004), he played a police officer who is an encounter specialist. His performance in Apaharan (2005) earned him his second Filmfare Best Villain Award as well as the Star Screen Award Best Villain. He played a taxi driver in Taxi No. 9211 (2006). Patekar has also done comic roles, such as in Welcome (2007), in which he plays a powerful crime lord in Dubai