Nana Patekar was fond of Virat Kohli. A avid cricket enthusiast, Patekar, long before making a mark in Indian cinema, played cricket at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park and bowled off-spin. However, Patekar never made it big in cricket, as destiny had other things written for him.
One of the renowned actors of all time, breathed his last at the age of 75 at his residence in Goa on Thursday, thus marking the end of an era. Patekar was found unconscious at his home and doctors were unable to revive him, news agency ANI reported.
According to Dr. Shekhar Salkar, chief of the oncology department at the Manipal Hospital in Goa, Patekar died of cardiac arrest, but it was unclear what triggered it. is survived by his wife, from whom he was separated, and a son.
As the news of Patekar’s death spread quickly, a video of him admiring Kohli went viral on social media. In an interview, revealed that he used to lose his appetite when Kohli gets dismissed. “Virat is my one of the cricketers that I love. Whenever he gets out, I don’t feel like having my food,” said Patekar in the video, which has now gone viral.
Following the death of , Kohli took to social media to express his condolences. “A true legend of Indian cinema. His work and legacy will live on for generations. Rest in peace, Nana Patekar ji. Om Shanti,” Kohli wrote.
Born Vishawanath Patekar, but popularly known as Nana, he started his career doing theatre in Marathi, the language spoken in his home state of Maharashtra, which is also home to Bollywood.
Patekar acted in several of India’s arthouse movies in the 1970’s and 80’s, including Mira Nair’s award-winning “Salaam Bombay” before moving to mainstream Bollywood. He played a variety of roles, sharing screen space with actors such as and Shah Rukh Khan.
His performances, marked by trademark aggression and forceful dialogue, won him several national and regional film awards. He made his acting debut with the 1978 film ‘Gaman’ and went on to earn praise for his performances in films including ‘Parinda’, ‘Prahar’, ‘Angaar’, ‘Krantiveer’, ‘Tiranga’, ‘Khamoshi’ and ‘Ab Tak Chhappan’.
In recent years, Patekar continued to work in films. He was part of ‘Housefull 5’, which starred , Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh and others. Patekar, 75, also appeared as a police officer in Vishal Bhardwaj’s ‘O’Romeo’, starring Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri. He also had a cameo in ‘Subedar’, which stars Anil Kapoor and Radhika Madan.
