Nana Patekar’s Final Hours and a Career That Defied Easy Roles

At about 2:30 a.m., actor Nana Patekar sent a friend a message saying he felt unwell. One report quoted him as saying he had pain on his left side. The friend did not see it until later. By the time he reached Patekar’s home in Dona Paula, Goa, the 75-year-old actor was sweating and growing weaker. ^15,29

The friend’s visit set off a rushed effort to help. Patekar’s caretaker contacted a nearby hospital, and its team went to the house by ambulance. Doctors began CPR during the transfer and continued trying to revive him for about 45 minutes. Manipal Hospital doctor Shekhar Salkar said Patekar was declared dead at 5:20 a.m. A post-mortem examination will confirm the exact cause. ^15,23

The post-mortem will close one part of the story, but people across Indian film are also feeling the loss. Patekar worked in Hindi and Marathi cinema, winning three National Film Awards and earning a name for roles that could be fierce, unsettling or comic. His characters in films including Parinda, Krantiveer, Prahaar and Ab Tak Chhappan made his voice and presence hard to mistake. Actors and public figures, including Rajinikanth and Ravi Kishan, have remembered him as a friend and a powerful performer. ^1,3,6

His work reached beyond the screen. Patekar’s role in Prahaar involved three years of military training, and he later said he had sought permission to join Indian troops during the 1999 Kargil conflict. He also helped farmers through the NAAM Foundation, which he co-founded after seeing reports of hardship in rural areas. His body was taken to Goa Medical College for a post-mortem, while tributes continued to arrive from across the film industry. ^4,14,17