Nana Patekar, the Actor Who Never Softened His Edges, Dies at 75
The National Award-winning star of 'Parinda' and 'Krantiveer' died of a cardiac arrest at his home in Goa and was cremated with full state honours in Pune district.
Nana Patekar, whose clipped delivery, coiled intensity and refusal to play anyone ordinary made him one of the most recognisable actors in Indian cinema, died on Thursday, October 8, at his home in Goa. He was 75. Reports said he had suffered a cardiac arrest.
He was cremated with full state honours at his farmhouse in Donje village in Pune district, with a ceremonial gun salute. His son Malhar lit the pyre and his wife Neelakanti received the national flag, according to Outlook. Actors Jackie Shroff, Makarand Anaspure and Pravin Tarde were among those present, along with Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis paid his respects when the actor's body arrived at Pune airport.
An actor of rare voltage
Patekar came to films from the stage, and he never lost the theatre actor's command of a pause. He first drew wide attention as the menacing gangster Anna in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Parinda (1989), a performance that won him a National Film Award. In 1994's Krantiveer, his speech-driven turn as an angry everyman turned him into a star and earned him the National Award for Best Actor. He won another National Award for Agni Sakshi (1996), and he directed and starred in Prahaar (1991), a film about a soldier confronting urban decay.
Across a career spanning Hindi and Marathi cinema, from intense dramas to comedies such as Welcome in later years, he was rarely cast as a conventional hero. Audiences went to his films to watch a performer who seemed to say exactly what he thought — on screen and off. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in 2013.
Beyond the screen
For many in rural Maharashtra, Patekar will be remembered as much for his work outside cinema. In 2015, with fellow actor Makarand Anaspure, he set up the Naam Foundation to support farming families hit by drought and distress.
That commitment was the focus of a tribute from Amitabh Bachchan, who paid homage to Patekar on Kaun Banega Crorepati's 18th season on Thursday night. Bachchan described him as a unique artist, a friend, a well-wisher and a social worker, and praised his candour and simplicity. He recalled Patekar's appearance on the show's sixteenth season, when the actor spoke about supporting drought-hit farmers and donated his winnings to that cause.
A voice that will be missed
Patekar was known for an often prickly public persona and for never seeking to be liked. That same bluntness gave his best performances their charge. His death closes the career of an actor who made anger feel like conscience, and whose most lasting role may have been the one he played among Maharashtra's farmers, far from any camera.
Sources
This article draws on the following reporting. Dates are when each source was originally published.
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