Nana Patekar to get an image makeover

And the makeover reference point given  to the company? Al Pacino!

Says a source, “For too long Nana has been perceived to be this earthy son of the soil all-heart hot-headed rugged and rustic hero. There’s a soft gentle refined side to Nana that has never been tapped. The endorsement and marketing company has taken upon itself the responsibility of re-inventing Nana.”

For the first time Nana would be projected in the media in well-tailored tuxedos and designer clothes that would contour his lean leonine physique in a Western avatar. Two of India’s leading clothes designers Rafiq Gangjee and  Manish Malhotra are being roped in to work on Patekar’s metrosexual look.

Nana would also doing endorsements for the first time—something that he has typically shied away from doing as a sign of selling the soul to the devil.

The devil, we now hear, is ready to wear Armani and Gucci.

While Nana refrained from comment on his new image-makeover we contacted Shailendra Singh of Percept who admitted  the actor was all set for a radical leap in public perception.

Says Singh, “We love the rugged earthy side  of Nana. But the image has played itself out.There’s another side to  Nana that needs to come out now. We’ve seen the sharp shooter long enough. Now we’ll see the poet and the artiste.”

Singh reveals how Nana is a consummate painter. “He has learnt to paint at the J J School Of Art. In the two hours that I spent talking with him last week he painted six canvases  for me. Believe you me, they’re world-class. We keep reading about Nana  the cook. What about Nana the artiste? We seriously think we can change his image even at this late stage.”

Apparently Percept’s head honcho spent a couple of hours discussing image-makeover plans with Nana who in his typically brash away , refused the offer initially.

“But we finally convinced him. We’re going to project Nana  as India’s Al Pacino. And that’s a compliment to Pacino,” shoots Singh, adding that the Rajneeti –Tirangaa star has already signed two endorsements for very high-profile upmarket products.

A film based on the life of Jinnah with Patekar is also on the cards.