Tributes paid as Indian actor and filmmaker Nana Patekar dies aged 75
Bollywood actor Nana Patekar. Picture: Shivam Saxena/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
Nana Patekar, an acclaimed Indian actor and filmmaker, died on Thursday at his home in the western state of Goa. He was 75.
Patekar died of a suspected cardiac arrest, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, citing a doctor at the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Born in 1951 in India’s western state of Maharashtra, Patekar built a career spanning nearly five decades in Hindi and Marathi-language cinema.
He was known for intense performances and roles that often portrayed complex or unconventional characters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led tributes to the actor, saying that his death had left "a vast void in the artistic world".
Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, who appeared alongside Patekar in the comedy film Welcome, said he was saddened by Patekar's death.
"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," he wrote on social media, adding the late star was "truly one of a kind".
- Associated Press
