Nana Patekar, veteran actor and Padma Shri recipient, dies of cardiac arrest at 75

Nana Patekar, one of Indian cinema's most distinctive and decorated performers, died of a cardiac arrest at his residence in Goa in the early hours of Thursday. He was 75. Attempts to revive him through CPR were unsuccessful.

The actor had appeared at a public event in Goa shortly before his death, where he urged those present to serve others and live fully, observing that nothing material accompanies a person after death. "Who knows about tomorrow," he is reported to have said, words that took on a profound resonance in the hours that followed.

Patekar built a career spanning several decades in both Hindi and Marathi theatre and cinema, earning multiple National Awards and a Padma Shri for his contributions to the arts. His journey began in modest circumstances — as a schoolboy in Class IX he painted film posters for thirty-five rupees a month — before he rose to become one of the industry's most commanding screen presences, with roles in films such as Krantiveer and Raajneeti among his most remembered.

Tributes arrived swiftly from across the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Patekar's death had left a deep void and praised his unmistakable presence on screen. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who described the actor as a close personal friend, said Patekar would always call him whenever he visited the state.