Veteran actor Nana Patekar dies at 75
MUMBAI, OCT 8 : Veteran actor Nana Patekar, known for his versatile performances and powerful screen presence, died at his residence in Goa in the early hours of Thursday.
He was 76. Patekar is suspected to have suffered a heart attack.
According to a report by news agency PTI, Patekar was found unconscious at his apartment in Dona Paula, near Panaji, and was taken to a private hospital, where he was declared dead at around 5.10 am, senior doctor Dr Shekhar Salkar said, the report added.
Despite 45 minutes of CPR, doctors could not revive him, Salkar said. A medico-legal case has been registered and a postmortem will be conducted to ascertain the exact cause of death.
According to information provided to hospital doctors by a friend of Patekar, the actor had messaged him around 3.30 am saying he was unwell. The friend saw the message around 4 am and rushed to Patekar’s apartment, where he was living with a caretaker.
The caretaker contacted the hospital, following which an ambulance was sent to the residence. Treatment began in the ambulance itself, Salkar said, according to PTI.
Patekar’s residence is around five minutes from the hospital. He was taken to the facility, where doctors attempted to revive him before declaring him dead at 5.10 am.
His body has been sent to Goa Medical College and Hospital in Bambolim for the postmortem.
Nana Patekar was one of the prominent actors in Hindi and Marathi cinema. He made his acting debut with the 1978 film ‘Gaman’ and went on to establish himself as a celebrated actor with performances in films such as ‘Parinda,’ ‘Prahar,’ ‘Angaar,’ ‘Krantiveer,’ ‘Tiranga,’ ‘Khamoshi’ and ‘Ab Tak Chhappan,’ among others.
In recent years, Patekar continued to feature in a range of projects. He was part of Housefull 5, which starred Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh and others.
Patekar, 75, also appeared as a police officer in Vishal Bhardwaj’s O’Romeo, starring Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri. In addition, he had a cameo appearance in Subedar, which stars Anil Kapoor and Radhika Madan.
Condoling Patekar’s death Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the actor leaves a deep void.
“Few actors possessed the intensity, individuality and unmistakable presence that Shri Nana Patekar Ji had. He brought remarkable versatility and creativity to every role and gave us characters that will be remembered for generations. He was also admired for his frank and forthright views, never hesitating to express what he believed in,” the PM said in a post on X.
-PTI
