Veteran Bollywood actor Nana Patekar has died at the age of 75 after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home in the western Indian state of Goa.
Patekar was found unresponsive at his residence in Dona Paula, a coastal neighbourhood about 7km south-west of state capital Panaji, in the early hours of Thursday.
He had messaged a friend at around 2.30am to say he was feeling unwell, according to Dr Shekhar Salkar, chief of the oncology department at Manipal Hospital, a private hospital in Dona Paula.
By the time his friend reached Patekar’s residence at 4am, he had begun sweating and “slowly becoming unconscious”.
An emergency team headed to his home and found the actor unresponsive, where they tried to revive him via cardiac resuscitation for about 45 minutes.
“They shifted him to our hospital at around 4.20 or 4.30am. We also tried our best, but he was brought dead,” Dr Salkar told ANI.
A medico-legal case has been registered and Patekar’s body was taken to Goa Medical College, the state’s main government medical college and hospital, for a post-mortem examination.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi led tributes to Patekar, praising the actor’s “remarkable versatility and creativity” on screen.
“Few actors possessed the intensity, individuality and unmistakable presence that Shri Nana Patekar Ji had,” Modi wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “He was also admired for his frank and forthright views, never hesitating to express what he believed in.”
Few actors possessed the intensity, individuality and unmistakable presence that Shri Nana Patekar Ji had. He brought remarkable versatility and creativity to every role and gave us characters that will be remembered for generations. He was also admired for his frank and…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 8, 2026
Riteish Deshmukh, who appeared with Patekar in Housefull 5, wrote that the news felt “as if a truck has hit me”.
“An actor par excellence, incomparable to anyone, he carved his place in people’s hearts with his own unique style and brand of acting. There wasn’t a role or a character he couldn’t perform,” he wrote.
I am shocked beyond words. Feels like a truck has hit me. Deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Nana Patekar ji. An actor par excellence, incomparable to anyone, he carved his place in people’s hearts with his own unique style and brand of acting. There wasn’t a role or a… pic.twitter.com/8mmU9ipyoY
Born Vishwanath Patekar in the western Indian state of Maharashtra in 1951, Patekar became one of the most recognisable actors in Hindi and Marathi cinema.
He began performing in theatre while still at school and later worked with influential Marathi theatre director Vijaya Mehta before moving into film.
Patekar told Rediff in 2015 that performing live for more than 90 minutes at a time had made the transition to film relatively easy, where “you are performing for five seconds, ten seconds, sometimes two minutes”.
He made his film debut in Muzaffar Ali’s Gaman in 1978, and then spent much of the next decade moving between small parts in Hindi and Marathi films. His performance as a menacing pimp and drug dealer named Baba in Mira Nair’s 1988 film Salaam Bombay! drew him praise, but it was Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Parinda the following year that established him as a major talent in Hindi cinema.
In Parinda, Patekar played Anna, a ruthless Mumbai underworld boss whose easygoing manner could turn menacing without warning, with his distinctive delivery making the character all the more unpredictable and frightening.
Patekar ended up getting badly burned while filming the climax, telling The Lallantop later that he spent 60 days in hospital and remained unable to work for months. “All my skin had peeled off…there was none left. There was no beard, moustache, eyebrow, eyelids left,” he said.
The 1990s established Patekar as a leading actor as well as a formidable supporting performer.
He made his directorial debut with Prahaar: The Final Attack in 1991, a military drama in which he also played the lead, before taking on a string of contrasting roles. He played a police officer in Yeshwant, a gangster in Ghulam-E-Mustafa, and a schizophrenic man in Wajood, while also building a steady profile of mainstream films like Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Tirangaa and Khamoshi: The Musical.
the fact that nana patekar performed this monologue so spontaneously and raw without a script, says everything about the actor he was. you will be deeply missed. rip nana patekar ji pic.twitter.com/MYHvrxOl7D
— z. (@marlboroadvv) October 8, 2026
His biggest success of the decade came with Krantiveer in 1994, in which he played Pratap Narayan Tilak, a wayward former gangster who becomes a vigilante. The film became the third-highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, and Patekar won the National Film Award for best actor for his performance, as well as the best actor Filmfare and Screen awards.
Two years later, he won another National Film Award, this time for best supporting actor, for Agni Sakshi, where he played Vishwanath, an obsessive and violent husband.
It was Patekar’s turn as the foul-tempered gangster with film actor ambitions Uday Shetty in the 2007 comedy Welcome, where he proved he could successfully deploy his trademark intensity for comic effect.
His Welcome co-star Akshay Kumar remembered him as “one of those rare actors who never needed to do too much to make you sit up and watch”.
“That voice, that intensity, that honesty in every performance… he was completely his own,” Kumar wrote on X. “Nana ji was truly one of a kind. It’s hard to believe you’re gone. Thank you for all the memories. You will be missed more than words can say.”
Really saddened by the news of Nana ji’s passing.
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) October 8, 2026
He was one of those rare actors who never needed to do too much to make you sit up and watch. That voice, that intensity, that honesty in every performance… he was completely his own.
I feel fortunate that we got to work together… pic.twitter.com/4t1X0UAfVG
Patekar was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honours, in 2013 for his contribution to the arts and cinema.
In 2018, actor Tanushree Dutta accused him of sexually harassing her a decade earlier on the set of Horn Ok Pleassss, alleging that he had touched her inappropriately while filming a song sequence in Mumbai and had pushed for intimate dance steps despite her objections.
Patekar denied the allegations, calling them false. Mumbai Police filed a closure report in 2019, saying there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Patekar, but Dutta opposed the report and challenged the investigation.
Tributes also came from several actors who saw Patekar as an influence on their own careers.
Manoj Bajpayee said Patekar’s journey had given “so many of us who came to Mumbai hoping to find a place in films” hope, adding that he showed actors that “your craft, your individuality and being true to who you are could be enough to make your own place”.
Shocking! Still cannot believe Nana Patekar ji is no more.
For so many of us who came to Mumbai hoping to find a place in films, his journey gave us hope. He made you believe that your craft, your individuality and being true to who you are could be enough to make your own… pic.twitter.com/YBhUO6AbsA
Deeply saddened by the passing of a great actor, a remarkable presence and a true stalwart of the craft.
— Manisha Koirala (@mkoirala) October 8, 2026
His contribution to cinema and his dedication to his craft will always be remembered.
May his soul rest in peace. Om Shanti. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/B85M39WIte
Urmila Matondkar, who worked with Patekar in Bhoot, called him a “great patriarch of Marathi theatre” and “awesome human being”, writing: “What do you even write about someone who can never be captured in words?”
Devastated beyond words..just frozen with grief 🙏🏻
— Urmila Matondkar (@UrmilaMatondkar) October 8, 2026
Shocking,shattering n extremely saddening 🙏🏻
What do you even write about someone who can never be captured in words..
Great Patriarch of Marathi theatre n awesome human being
आमचे नाना 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/YD2kishMGK
Maharashtra’s government has announced that Patekar will receive a funeral with full state honours, citing his contribution to Marathi theatre and Hindi and Marathi cinema.
His last rites are due to be held at his farmhouse in Donje, near Pune, where his body is expected to be brought later on Thursday for a public viewing. Patekar is survived by his wife, Neelakanti Patekar, from whom he was separated, and their son, Malhar.
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