Nana Patekar, Iconic Indian Actor, Dies at 72: A Legacy Etched in Cinema and Beyond
Veteran actor Nana Patekar, one of the most distinctive performers of Hindi and Marathi cinema, died at his home in Goa in the early hours of Thursday. He was 72. His last rites will take place at his farmhouse in Pune with full state honours, following an outpouring of grief from across the nation.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the tributes, saying on X that Patekar’s death had left “a vast void in the artistic world” and that he “brought remarkable diversity and creativity to every role, creating characters that will remain in the memory of generations.” In the evening, Patekar’s remains were flown to Pune by air ambulance, where Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis paid his last respects. The body was then taken to his farm in Donje village, where last rites were performed and he was cremated. His son, Malhar, told reporters that his father “has not truly gone anywhere and will remain with us—even if not physically—and his commitment to social welfare would live on.”
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Patekar’s career spanned decades and defied easy categorization. He acted in several of India’s arthouse movies in the 1970s and ’80s, including Mira Nair’s award-winning Salaam Bombay, before moving to mainstream Bollywood with films such as Parinda (1989), Krantiveer (1994), Ab Tak Chhappan (2004), and Welcome (2007). His portrayal of Major Chauhan in Prahaar—a film he also directed—won him praise. Just when critics thought that playing loud characters was his mainstay, he proved them wrong by delivering a mesmerising performance in Khamoshi as a person who could not hear or speak. His work connected mainstream Bollywood with India’s parallel cinema movement, which emphasizes realism and social issues.
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Beyond his
Shimanta Das 
