Bollywood actor Nana Patekar's special connections with the police helped the team of Tigmanshu Dhulia's "Shagird" in shooting at key locations, including the iconic India Gate, in the capital.

In "Shagird", Nana plays ACP Hanumant Singh, a cop based in Delhi. To shoot at some locations in the capital, the crew was required to go through long procedures of paperwork and permissions. But thanks to Nana, the Delhi Police extended great help and security, said a source.

"Nana has studied figurative art from JJ School of Arts. He has always been very fond of art since childhood and was planning to pursue a career in the same field. Although destiny had something else in store for him and he found himself doing theatre.

"Nana continued with his sketching in a very productive manner. He started to help the police force and worked closely with them during the Mumbai riots which was of great help to them. Even after the riots, Nana offered help to the police as and when required. So they are nice to him," said a source.

Director Tigmanshu Dhulia was pleased at the help they received.

"While shooting for the film I usually found police to be very warm to Nana Patekar. I thought for a long time it was because they love him as an actor. However, later I realised that he had a very special bond and thus permissions never were a hassle for us," he said.

Nana's connections with the police also helped him to accompany a cop to a real life encounter location to understand the characteristics and body language of an encounter specialist.

"Shagird" will release May 13.