Interacting with the battle-tired soldiers, he was not the temperamental actor that he is known to be. Dressed in camouflage fatigues, with no badges of rank, and accompanied by Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, Nana made an impromptu landing near the Drass Brigade Headquarters and brought a smile on many a face. For once, the chief minister took a back-seat as Nana got all the attention.

Nana, an honorary Army Captain, had recently announced that he wanted to go to Kargil and fight with along the soldiers. Though he was reportedly denied permission to actually go to the battleground, he has been travelling extensively in the Kargil war zone, meeting soldiers, talking to them and encouraging them.

Nana was made an honorary Captain after he underwent six-monthintensive training at Khadagvasla in Pune for his film Prahaar. Nana had played the role of a tough Army instructor in the movie, and to lend it authenticity had actually undergone gruelling training. He was trained under Colonel S V E David, now the Deputy Commander of Drass Brigade Headquarters. The moment Nana got to know that David was in Drass, he requested the pilot of the helicopter to make an unscheduled landing there.

``I couldn't have gone without meeting you,'' he told David as they hugged warmly. All soldiers and officers gathered there as Nana held court. Speaking to David and other Marathi-speaking jawans in the language, he established an immediate rapport. With others, he switched to Hindi and English.

``You guys are doing a real great job. The entire nation is not only proud of you but also grateful to you,'' he told the soldiers, patting them on the back. And as he thumped them on their chest, it swelled further with pride. Even Farooq Abdullah was happy, observing the scene fromthe background, with a smile on his face.

Then Nana came to Captain Sanjay Jadhav, a Marathi speaking officer, and switched to his mother tongue, pulling the officer's leg. ``Hey, what is this? Soldiers lose weight in jung (war) but you seem to be gaining. Haven't you been killing the enemy? Go and kill a few more Pakistanis,'' Nana told him, hitting him on the shoulder in an encouraging manner. Standing ramrod straight, Captain Jadhav smiled before being enveloped in a hug by Nana Patekar.

The lighthearted joy of the moment faded as the Cheetah helicopter landed bringing casualties from the peaks. One soldier had lost his eye and another his leg, after being hit by splinters. The mood immediately became sombre as Nana said that the war had to be fought to its logical end and reiterated that the entire nation was solidly behind the soldiers.

Another man who is visiting the soldiers, going even to the forward posts, is Sudhir Sawant -- a Congress Member of Parliament (MP) from Maharashtra who quitto rejoin the Army. An ex-Army officer, Sawant wears the uniform and the rank of a Major, and was part of the Maratha Light Infantry.

Sawant has also been going from post to post, talking to soldiers and listening to their grievances -- trying to be the bridge between the army and the government. ``I think the government was premature in declaring the war over. It is still very much on as anybody out here can see. There is a need for the government to pump in more resources instead of saying that it's all over and sitting back,'' he said.

Sawant promised the soldiers that he would try to get them a separate medal for Operation Vijay, combat allowance for fighting the intruders in Kargil and also High Altitude allowance, given to soldiers posted in Siachen.

``Fauj is the last pillar of our strength. And if the country has come out of this combat victorious, it is only because of the brave soldiers. It is our duty to show them some gratitude,'' he added.