Veteran Indian actor Nana Patekar, known for his intense, fiery performances on stage and in film, has died at the age of 75 in Goa.
One of the most recognisable faces of Indian cinema, Patekar won three National Film Awards and became known for playing difficult and often volatile characters. He was also a prominent figure in Marathi language cinema and theatre.
He was admitted to a hospital after being found unconscious at his home in Goa in the early hours of Thursday.
“Despite 45 minutes of continuous CPR, he could not be revived,” Dr Shekhar Salkar of Manipal Hospital in Goa told ANI news agency. Tributes have poured in from actors and politicians across India.
Dr Salkar later told PTI news agency that the hospital team found Patekar at his home “unconscious and almost unresponsive”.
The team continued giving him CPR even while taking him to the hospital, located about 10 minutes away, but he was dead by the time they reached there, he added.
Dr Salkar said Patekar had suffered a cardiac arrest, but it was not clear what had triggered it.
Family, friends and fans paid their last respects to the actor at Goa Medical College, ahead of his funeral which was to take place later in the day with full state honours at his farm house in the western city of Pune in Maharashtra state.
In the evening, his remains were flown to Pune by air ambulance, where the state’s chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis paid his last respects, before Patekar’s body was taken to his farm in Donje village where last rites were performed and he was cremated.
Times of India reports that his son, Malhar, told reporters afterwards that his father has not truly gone anywhere and will to remain with them – even if not physically – and his commitment to social welfare would live on.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led tributes to the actor, praising Patekar’s versatility and outspoken personality.
Patekar portrayed characters that would “remain etched in the memory of generations”, Modi wrote on X, adding that his death had left “a vast void in the artistic world”.
Bollywood veteran Anupam Kher paid tribute to his friend on social media, saying he would miss his warmth and extraordinary performances and called him “one of the finest actors and human beings in Indian cinema”.
Another Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan called him “a mentor, a teacher, a critic and a friend”, adding that Patekar has “left a void not only in the world of cinema but in the hearts of all Indians and the world”.
Akshay Kumar, who appeared alongside Patekar in the comedy film Welcome, remembered him as a rare performer whose voice, intensity and honesty could command an audience’s attention.
