‘I don’t know if I will be here tomorrow’: Nana Patekar at his last event four days before death
Photo: Collected
Vishwanath ‘Nana’ Patekar, the renowned actor of Indian cinema and Padma Shri awardee, is no more. He breathed his last after suffering a cardiac arrest at a hospital in Goa at 5:20am on Thursday. He was 75. Just four days before his death, on 4 October, he had attended an event at Dona Paula in Goa, which turned out to be the last public event of his life.
That day Nana Patekar was present as a guest at the installation ceremony of the new board of directors of Samrat Club International, State-1, at ‘Taj Cidade de Goa’ in Dona Paula. There, Rajashree A Khandeparkar took charge as state president for the 2026-27 term.
A video released by news agency PTI shows Nana Patekar, dressed in a white kurta with a white gamchha around his neck, addressing the gathering. He reminisced about former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar and lavishly praised his style of working as a politician.
At one point in his speech, Nana Patekar spoke emotionally in Marathi about the eternal truth of death. He said, ‘One day we all have to go. I do not even know whether I will be here tomorrow. Every person’s life will ultimately reach this one final end. But before that moment comes, I have to ask myself: am I really able to do what I want to do?’ This remark, made exactly four days before his death, is now stirring deep anguish in everyone’s hearts.
Dr Shekhar Salkar, chief physician of the oncology department at Manipal Hospital, said that although CPR was given for 45 minutes at a stretch after he was brought to the hospital, Nana’s heartbeat could not be restored. The matter has already been registered as a medico-legal case and a post-mortem examination of his body will be carried out as per the rules.
Nana Patekar was last seen on screen in the film ‘O’Romeo’. His co-stars in it were Shahid Kapoor, Triptii Dimri, Avinash Tiwary and Disha Patani.
Vishwanath Patekar, who took himself to unique heights in the Indian film world under the name Nana Patekar, was born in Maharashtra on 1 January 1951. For several decades his intense, powerful and realistic acting in Hindi and Marathi cinema kept audiences captivated. His style of delivering dialogue was so unique and dramatic that imitating it exactly was a great feat for mimicry artists.
Nana Patekar stepped into Hindi cinema with the film ‘Gaman’ in 1978. But ‘Salaam Bombay’ and ‘Parinda’ brought him immense popularity and a strong position in the mainstream. Later he delivered one superhit and commercially successful film after another, such as ‘Tirangaa’, ‘Krantiveer’, ‘Khamoshi: The Musical’, ‘Yeshwant’, ‘Ab Tak Chhappan’, ‘Apaharan’ and ‘Raajneeti’.
Alongside cinema, Nana Patekar was equally active in Marathi theatre and plays. He also made his debut as a director in 1991 by directing the film ‘Prahaar: The Final Attack’. Moving beyond grave and aggressive characters, his iconic ‘Uday Shetty’ character in the ‘Welcome’ franchise made audiences laugh heartily, and it later turned into a hugely popular meme on social media.
Nana Patekar was honoured with India’s state honour ‘Padma Shri’ in 2013 for his outstanding contribution to art and cinema. In his career he received numerous prestigious awards, including three National Film Awards. He was a philanthropist not only on the silver screen but also in real life. He always came forward for various social causes and to help farmers. He stood by the families affected in ‘Operation Sindoor’ during shelling from Pakistan and ensured financial assistance for them through his own NGO.
Source: NDTV
