Bollywood actor Nana Patekar dies at 75 after cardiac arrest at his Goa home

Death at home in Goa

Nana Patekar, a veteran Indian actor and filmmaker, died on Thursday in the western state of Goa, aged 75. He was found unresponsive at his residence in Dona Paula, a coastal neighbourhood about 7km south-west of the state capital Panaji, in the early hours of Thursday. According to Dr Shekhar Salkar, chief of the oncology department at Manipal Hospital, Patekar had messaged a friend at around 2.30am to say he was feeling unwell. By the time the friend reached the residence at 4am, he had begun sweating and was slowly becoming unconscious. An emergency team tried to revive him through cardiac resuscitation for about 45 minutes before he was taken to the hospital, where Dr Salkar said he was brought dead. Reporting from several outlets described the death as a suspected cardiac arrest, and it was unclear what triggered it.

Career

Patekar was born Vishwanath Patekar in 1951 in Maharashtra and began in Marathi theatre. He made his film debut in Muzaffar Ali's Gaman in 1978 and later became known for Parinda and Krantiveer. He appeared in Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay! before moving into mainstream Bollywood, where he shared screen space with Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. He won three National Film Awards and received the Padma Shri. His performances were marked by trademark aggression and forceful dialogue, and he excelled in both serious and comic roles.

Tributes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the actor on X, writing that "Few actors possessed the intensity, individuality and unmistakable presence that Shri Nana Patekar Ji had." Modi also said Patekar "brought remarkable versatility and creativity to every role."

He was one of those rare actors who never needed to do too much to make you sit up and watch. That voice, that intensity, that honesty in every performance... he was completely his own.

Riteish Deshmukh, who appeared with Patekar in Housefull 5, wrote that the news felt as if a truck had hit him. Patekar is survived by his wife, from whom he was separated, and a son.

Career controversy

In 2008, actress Tanushree Dutta said Patekar had ordered changes to a dance sequence so that he could grope her on a film set. Patekar denied the allegations. Dutta filed a police complaint, but a later complaint she filed in 2018 was cleared by police in 2019, who said investigators had found no evidence to support it. Dutta released a video statement on Thursday, saying she would speak once she figured out what reaction she should have.