Nana Patekar Dies at 75: Cause of Death, Funeral and the Roles That Made Him
Nana Patekar, one of the most distinctive actors Indian cinema has produced, has died at the age of 75. He died at his home in Goa on Thursday, 8 October, of a suspected cardiac arrest, the Press Trust of India reported, and his son Malhar confirmed the news.
Later that day he was cremated with full state honours at his farmhouse in Donje village near Pune, reportedly in keeping with his wish for a final farewell in his village. The tributes, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Shah Rukh Khan, kept coming back to the same word: intensity.
What happened
Patekar died early on Thursday at his home in Goa. The Press Trust of India, citing a doctor, reported a suspected cardiac arrest, and his son Malhar confirmed his death to local media. His family has not released any further medical details.
His body was taken from Goa to Pune, and the Maharashtra government gave him a state funeral in recognition of his work in Marathi theatre and in Marathi and Hindi cinema. The last rites were held the same day at his farmhouse in Donje village, outside Pune, with family, friends, colleagues and political leaders present.
From Marathi theatre to Gaman
Vishwanath "Nana" Patekar was born on 1 January 1951 in Murud-Janjira, in Maharashtra's Raigad district. He trained as an artist at the Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Arts in Mumbai, and found his way to acting through Marathi theatre, where he worked under the director Vijaya Mehta.
His film debut came with Muzaffar Ali's Gaman in 1978. He spent the next decade building a reputation in parallel cinema and on stage before the late 1980s turned him into one of Hindi cinema's most recognisable faces.
The roles that defined him
| Year | Film | Role | Why it mattered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Salaam Bombay! | Supporting role | Mira Nair's Oscar-nominated debut brought him international attention |
| 1989 | Parinda | Anna Seth | National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor; still one of Hindi cinema's great villains |
| 1991 | Prahaar: The Final Attack | Army officer | His only film as director, which he also wrote |
| 1994 | Krantiveer | Pratap Narayan Tilak | National Film Award and Filmfare Award for Best Actor |
| 1996 | Agni Sakshi | A sadistic husband | His second National Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 1996 | Khamoshi: The Musical | A deaf father | Proof he could be devastating without raising his voice |
| 2004 | Ab Tak Chhappan | An encounter specialist | Defined the Mumbai police thriller for a generation |
| 2007 | Welcome | Uday Shetty | The comic gangster who became a meme years later |
| 2016 | Natsamrat | Ganpatrao Belwalkar | A late-career Marathi triumph that he also produced |
What tied those performances together was a voice and a stillness no one could imitate. Patekar could make a villain frightening by barely moving, then turn up in Welcome and make an underworld don the funniest man in the room. Few actors of his generation moved so easily between art-house cinema, Marathi theatre and mass entertainers without seeming to change who they were.
He kept working into his seventies. His later films included The Vaccine War (2023), Housefull 5 (2025) and Vishal Bhardwaj's O'Romeo, released in February 2026 alongside Shahid Kapoor. During the O'Romeo shoot he filmed an action sequence while running a fever of 102°F.
Beyond the screen
Patekar's commitment went well past the film set. While preparing for Prahaar, he trained with the Territorial Army, and he later served with it during the 1999 Kargil conflict, eventually retiring as an honorary lieutenant colonel.
In September 2015, with the actor Makarand Anaspure, he set up the NAAM Foundation to support farmers in drought-hit Maharashtra.
Nana Patekar's family
He married Neelkanti Patekar in 1978. Their first son, Durvasa, died in early childhood. Their son Malhar Patekar confirmed his father's death. Patekar is survived by his wife and son.
The 2018 allegation
In 2018, during India's #MeToo movement, the actress Tanushree Dutta accused Patekar of sexually harassing her on the set of Horn 'Ok' Pleassss in 2008. He denied the allegation. In June 2019, Mumbai Police filed a closure report with the court, saying they had found no evidence to prosecute him. In March 2025, a magistrate's court in Andheri declined to take up Dutta's complaint, ruling that it had been filed after the legal time limit had passed.
Tributes
“He brought remarkable versatility and creativity to every role and gave us characters that will be remembered for generations.”
Shah Rukh Khan called him a mentor, teacher, critic and friend, and remembered the first advice Patekar gave him: "Hero ki tarah baal mat bana... tu actor hai!" (Don't style your hair like a hero... you're an actor!) "He didn't flatter you," Khan wrote. "He told you what you needed to hear. That was Nana."
Ajay Devgn wrote that "some actors do not just play characters on screen, they leave a lasting impression", and Akshay Kumar, his co-star in the Welcome films, said he was "really saddened by the news of Nana ji's passing".
Our view
Nana Patekar never fitted the shape of a Hindi film star, and he never tried to. He came from Marathi theatre, refused to soften his voice or his opinions, and still became a box-office name in the 1990s on intensity alone. That he is being remembered as warmly for Uday Shetty as for Parinda says everything about his range.
Quick answers
How did Nana Patekar die?
He died of a suspected cardiac arrest at his home in Goa on 8 October 2026, the Press Trust of India reported, citing a doctor. His family has not shared further details.
How old was Nana Patekar?
He was 75. He was born on 1 January 1951 in Murud-Janjira, Maharashtra.
Where was Nana Patekar's funeral?
He was cremated with state honours on 8 October at his farmhouse in Donje village, near Pune, reportedly in keeping with his wish for a final farewell in his village.
Who are Nana Patekar's wife and son?
His wife is Neelkanti Patekar, whom he married in 1978, and his son is Malhar Patekar.
How many National Awards did Nana Patekar win?
Three: Best Supporting Actor for Parinda and Agni Sakshi, and Best Actor for Krantiveer. He also received the Padma Shri in 2013.
What was Nana Patekar's last film?
His last major release was Vishal Bhardwaj's O'Romeo, with Shahid Kapoor, in February 2026. Before that he appeared in Housefull 5 (2025).
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