NEW DELHI — Renowned Indian actor and filmmaker Nana Patekar died Thursday at his residence in Goa at the age of 75, NBC News reported.
Patekar died from a suspected cardiac arrest, according to news agency Press Trust of India, which cited a doctor from the hospital where the veteran performer was pronounced dead. Patekar is survived by his wife and son.
A five-decade cinematic career
Born in 1951 in the western state of Maharashtra, Patekar built an influential career spanning nearly five decades across Hindi- and Marathi-language cinema. He gained prominence for intense screen roles and unconventional character portrayals, appearing in mainstream Bollywood productions alongside films within India’s realistic “parallel cinema” movement.
Patekar entered the film industry with the 1978 Hindi release “Gaman.” He subsequently earned critical acclaim for titles such as “Parinda” and “Krantiveer.” International audiences recognized his work in director Mira Nair’s Academy Award-nominated drama “Salaam Bombay!” Over his career, Patekar received three National Film Awards, the country’s highest cinema honors, as well as the Padma Shri, one of India’s prominent civilian honors.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to the late artist on the social platform X, praising his “intensity, individuality and unmistakable presence” across generations of cinematic work, NBC News reported. Modi wrote that Patekar brought “remarkable versatility and creativity to every role and gave us characters that will be remembered for generations.”
In 2018, amid India’s #MeToo movement, Patekar faced scrutiny when an actress accused him of sexual harassment on a movie set, NBC News reported. Patekar denied the accusation, which became a high-profile case during a broader industry reckoning regarding workplace misconduct.
Artistic life and devotion to music
Beyond his film work, Patekar maintained an enduring involvement with Indian classical and folk traditions, The Hindu reported. Just three days before his death, he played the ghumot, a traditional Goan percussion instrument, during a cultural gathering in Panaji.
Patekar frequently welcomed classical vocalists and instrumentalists to intimate gatherings at his home in Pune, according to cultural curator Shashi Vyas. Sitarist Shakir Khan recalled Patekar attending training workshops and passionately discussing ragas, noting that the actor had phoned him from a gym two months earlier to praise a performance and urge him to remain true to his musical heritage. In previous interviews, Patekar credited classical music with bringing him tranquility amid daily pressures.
His involvement extended to Maharashtra’s musical theatre traditions. Patekar served as a trustee and patron of the Dr Vasantrao Deshpande Pratishthan and helped organize Pune’s annual Vasantotsav classical music festival, The Hindu reported. He also wrote poetry on social themes, releasing the Marathi verse album “Nanachhand” in 2024.
Patekar had previously spoken publicly about the financial hardships that marked his youth before he found cinematic success. In an interview broadcast in 2024 by NDTV, Patekar described how poverty prevented him from paying for medical treatment when his father was hospitalized, The Times of India reported.
“I started earning money from films. Initially, I earned a little, and then I started earning a lot,” Patekar said during the interview. “But when my father was ill, I didn’t have the money to pay for his treatment, and he died in the hospital.”
He described spending long nights on the street or steps outside the medical facility while waiting for updates, expressing lasting grief over his inability to afford better care at the time.
Hospital officials have not released further medical details beyond the suspected cardiac arrest cited by attending physicians, Press Trust of India reported.
