Alipurduar (West Bengal) [India], October 8 : Former actor and West Bengal government advisor Mithun Chakraborty paid tribute to his close friend and fellow actor Nana Patekar following his death on Thursday.
Speaking to the media, Mithun said he was deeply saddened by Patekar’s death and recalled the bond they shared away from their work in films. He also spoke about Patekar’s nature and said that despite people often talking about his “quick temper”, he was someone who helped many people.
“I am deeply saddened because he was one of my closest friends… He used to help so many people… People used to say he had a quick temper or acted out, but anger only arises when things aren’t organised; after all, even I get angry then,” Mithun said.
“If things are organised, why would there be any anger?… Our friendship went beyond movies; we got along very well regardless of that,” he added.
Mithun Chakraborty and Nana Patekar worked together in the 1988 film 'Sagar Sangam', directed by Dulal Guha. It was their only film together. Mithun played Gopi, a thief trying to change his life, while Patekar played Ramu Ustad, a criminal who had raised Gopi.
Patekar died at the age of 75 on Thursday after suffering a cardiac arrest at his residence in Goa. Dr Shekhar Salkar, Chief of the Department of Oncology at Manipal Hospital, confirmed the news to ANI.
According to Dr Salkar, Patekar had sent a message to a friend around 2:30 am saying that he was not feeling well. The friend later reached his residence around 4 am. Patekar was taken to Manipal Hospital, where doctors tried to revive him for around 45 minutes, but he could not be saved.
Patekar was one of the well-known actors in Hindi and Marathi cinema. He made his acting debut with Gaman in 1978 and went on to work in films including Parinda, Prahar, Angaar, Krantiveer, Tiranga, Khamoshi and Ab Tak Chhappan.
In recent years, he continued to work in films and was seen in Housefull 5. He also appeared in Vishal Bhardwaj’s O’Romeo and had a cameo in Subedar, starring Anil Kapoor and Radhika Madan.