Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 8 : Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit mourned the sudden demise of veteran actor Nana Patekar and said his death is a “massive loss” for the film industry.
Speaking to ANI, Pandit recalled Patekar’s contribution to theatre, films and television and said there were no known concerns about the actor’s health. Calling Patekar an “institution in himself”, he said the industry may never see a personality like him again.
“Nana Patekar ji’s passing is a huge loss for all of us, because as far as his health was concerned, we never heard of him having any issues. As a theater artist, a film artist, a television artist, and a philanthropist, it’s a massive loss for our industry,” Pandit said.
He further spoke about Patekar’s place in the industry and said his contribution went beyond his work as an actor.
“As far as being an institution in himself is concerned, I think we will never find a personality like him in our industry,” he added.
Patekar died after suffering a severe cardiac arrest in Goa. He was taken to Manipal Hospital, where doctors tried to revive him for around 45 minutes, but he could not be saved. Dr Shekhar Salkar, Chief of the Oncology Department 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 at around 4 am.
Patekar was one of the well-known actors in Hindi and Marathi cinema. He made his acting debut with the 1978 film ‘Gaman’ and went on to receive praise for his performances in films such as ‘Parinda’, ‘Prahar’, ‘Angaar’, ‘Krantiveer’, ‘Tiranga’, ‘Khamoshi’ and ‘Ab Tak Chhappan’.
The actor continued to work in films in recent years. He was seen in ‘Housefull 5’, which starred Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh, among others.
Patekar, 75, also appeared as a police officer in Vishal Bhardwaj’s ‘O’Romeo’, starring Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri.