Nana Patekar passed away Thursday at the age of 75 following a serious cardiac arrest at his Goa house. He was unconscious and was rushed to Manipal Hospital where the doctors tried to resuscitate him for about 45 minutes. According to hospital sources, his condition deteriorated and became critical around 5:20am when he was pronounced dead.
“It’s confirmed that Nana Patekar passed away due to the combined efforts of his son Malhar Patekar and hospital authorities,” his son Malhar Patekar and hospital officials confirmed. As a result of his sudden death the actor has earned cross-over tributes from film industry and public stars.
The Maharashtra government, in a tribute to Patekar’s service to the theatre and cinema, has stated that he will be given a state funeral. His state funeral will take place at his farmhouse Donje near Pune. The cremation timing is also a point that was conveyed in different ways, and that the schedule was updated throughout the day by authorities or the media.
Born as ‘Vishwanath Patekar’, Patekar started his career in theatre and later became one of the leading Hindi and Marathi film actors. His film years started in 1978 with the debut on Gaman and he appeared with a number of successful roles in films like Parinda, Krantiveer, Agni Sakshi, Ab Tak Chhappan, Natsamrat and Welcome.
He was also a movie maker and directed Prahaar: The Final Attack. He has won three National Film Awards and Padma Shri in 2013 during his career. He got established name in the theater, Marathi cinema and also in the principal Hindi movies across the generations.
The sadly closed season of Patekar’s career of several decades has come to its end and in a eulogy, actors and other actors who worked with the actor recall his unique acting ability and contribution to Indian cinema.