Nana Patekar, a giant of Indian cinema, dies at 75 after cardiac arrest in Goa
The three-time National Film Award winner was found unconscious at his Goa home and declared dead at hospital after 45 minutes of CPR failed to revive him, ANI reported.
Veteran actor Nana Patekar died in the early hours of Thursday after suffering a cardiac arrest. He was 75. He was found unconscious at his home in Goa and rushed to Manipal Hospital, where doctors declared him dead at 5.20 am after 45 minutes of CPR failed to revive him, news agency ANI reported.
Born Vishwanath Patekar on 1 January 1951 in Murud-Janjira, Maharashtra, he began in theatre and went on to become one of the most intense and respected performers in Indian cinema, with a career across Hindi and Marathi films spanning nearly five decades.
He won three National Film Awards, including Best Actor for Krantiveer (1994) and Best Supporting Actor for Parinda (1989), and delivered celebrated performances in Tirangaa, Agni Sakshi, Apaharan, Welcome and the Marathi classic Natsamrat. He received the Padma Shri in 2013. Tamil audiences knew him as the villain of Bommalattam and as Rajinikanth's adversary in Kaala.
Away from the screen, Patekar served in the Territorial Army, rose to the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel and served during the Kargil war. He also worked for drought-hit farmers in Maharashtra through the Naam Foundation. Tributes poured in from the film industry and political leaders as the news spread.