Veteran actor Nana Patekar passed away in Goa after suffering a cardiac arrest on Thursday. He was 75. Giving details of the actor’s final hours, Dr Shekhar Salkar, Chief of the Oncology Department at Goa’s Manipal Hospital, told ANI that the actor was brought to the hospital in the early hours of Thursday after he became unresponsive at his residence. The doctor said the medical team tried to revive him for nearly an hour, but he could not be saved.
Dr Shekhar said that Patekar had sent a message to a friend around 2.30 am saying that he was not feeling well. “From what we recalled, at around 2.30, he sent a message to his friend that he was not feeling well. But as it was nighttime, his friend could not see the message. So, he just called him. The friend went to his house at around 4 o’clock. By that time, he was sweating and all. They moved him, all those primary things. But he was slowly becoming unconscious,” he said.
The doctor said the actor’s caretaker was then sent to the hospital in an ambulance. The emergency team also went to Patekar’s residence and started CPR after finding him completely unresponsive. Dr Shekhar said the medical team continued efforts to revive him for around 45 minutes to an hour after he was brought to the hospital.
“When our ER team went there, they started cardiac massage because he was totally unresponsive. They shifted him to our hospital at around 4:20 or 4:30 am. We also tried our best, but he was brought dead,” he said.
Dr Shekhar also said a medico-legal case was filed following the actor’s death. His body was later taken to Goa Medical College for a post-mortem examination. “Then we had to file a police case because there’s an MLC (medico-legal case). The body has now been taken to the Goa Medical College for post-mortem,” he said.
The doctor added that Patekar’s family members were not present at the time, while his friends and caretaker were with him.
Nana Patekar had an illustrious career which spanned decades across films, theatre and television. He was known for his strong screen presence, intense dialogue delivery and performances with powerful restraint.
Born as Vishwanath Patekar in Maharashtra in 1951, Patekar’s journey into the world of acting started in the late 1970s. He made his debut in films with the 1978 movie Gaman, which also starred Smita Patil and Farooq Sheikh.
He was known for his assured performances in films like Salaam Bombay! (1988), Parinda (1990), Prahaar (1991), Krantiveer (1994), Agni Sakshi (1996), Shakti: The Power (2022), Ab Tak Chhappan (2004), Apaharan (2005), Welcome (2007) and Natsamrat (2016), among others.
His last performance was in his Raajneeti (2010) director Prakash Raj's OTT series Sankalp. His last theatrical role was in Vishal Bhardwaj's O'Romeo.