Nana Patekar, Indian Star of ‘Parinda’ and ‘Krantiveer,’ Dies at 75

Nana Patekar, the Indian Hindi and Marathi cinema actor whose range spanned menacing crime lords to comic gangsters, died Oct. 8 at age 75. He went into cardiac arrest at his residence in Goa and was declared dead at 5:20 a.m. local time, news agency ANI reported.

"Despite 45 minutes of continuous CPR, he could not be revived," Dr. Shekhar Salkar, chief of the oncology department at Manipal Hospital, told ANI. Salkar said a medico-legal case had been opened and an autopsy would follow.

Who shaped his early career?

Born Vishwanath Patekar in Murud-Janjira in present-day Maharashtra's Raigad district, he studied at Mumbai's Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art. His first stage role came under director Vijaya Mehta. He made his film debut in "Gaman" in 1978 and spent the following decade in smaller Marathi and Hindi parts, including a role in Mira Nair's Oscar-nominated "Salaam Bombay!" (1988).

What was his breakthrough role?

His turn as a crime lord in "Parinda" (1989) brought him an Indian National Film Award for best supporting actor and the Filmfare award in the same category. He directed "Prahaar: The Final Attack" (1991), starring alongside Madhuri Dixit, and went through army training to prepare for his officer role.

"Krantiveer" (1994), in which he played a disgraced gambler who rallies ordinary people to fight back, won him the National Film Award for best actor along with Filmfare and Screen honors. A second National Award for supporting actor followed for "Agni Sakshi" (1996). The same year he played the deaf parent of Manisha Koirala in "Khamoshi: The Musical."

Which honors marked his career?

He took Filmfare's best villain prize twice, for "Angaar" (1992) and "Apaharan" (2005). Only Patekar and the late Irrfan Khan won Filmfare trophies as lead, supporting player and villain across categories.

In the 2000s he played a police encounter specialist in "Ab Tak Chhappan" (2004) and a taxi driver opposite John Abraham in "Taxi No. 9211" (2006). With "Welcome" (2007), as mob boss Uday Shetty, he found a new audience and returned in "Welcome Back" (2015). He played a politician in "Raajneeti" (2010).

How did he sustain a parallel Marathi career?

He won Filmfare Marathi best actor awards for "Dr. Prakash Baba Amte – The Real Hero" (2014) and "Natsamrat" (2016), in which he starred as an aging theater veteran. He voiced Shere Khan in the Hindi "The Jungle Book" (2016) and appeared opposite Rajinikanth in the Tamil film "Kaala" (2018).

Later credits included "The Vaccine War" (2023), "Vanvaas" (2024) and "Housefull 5" (2025). In 2025 he starred in series "Sankalp" on Amazon MX Player and appeared alongside Shahid Kapoor in "O'Romeo."

What controversies marked his later years?

Actor Tanushree Dutta accused him in 2008 of harassing her on the set of "Horn 'Ok' Pleassss," and repeated the allegation in 2018. Her account helped spark the #MeToo movement in the Hindi film industry. Mumbai police registered a case against Patekar and three others in October 2018 but filed a closure report in June 2019. Patekar consistently denied the allegations.

How will he be remembered beyond film?

He received the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honor, in 2013. Commissioned into the Territorial Army in 1988 with the rank of captain, he served with the Maratha Light Infantry during the 1999 Kargil conflict, held the rank of major and rose to lieutenant colonel by his 2013 departure. In 2015 he launched the Naam Foundation alongside Makarand Anaspure to support drought-hit farmers in Maharashtra.

Patekar's death closes a chapter for a generation of Indian viewers who watched his four-decade run from parallel cinema to mass-market comedy — and who now await the autopsy report that will formally document his cause of death.