Nana Patekar cremated with full state honours at farmhouse in Pune

Nana Patekar was cremated with full state honours at his Donjre farmhouse in Pune's Khadakwasla village.

In Short

• Nana Patekar, 75, cremated with full state honours at Donjre farmhouse in Pune
• Family, industry friends and politicians paid their last respects to actor in Pune
• The actor died during early hours on Thursday in Goa

Actor Nana Patekar was cremated with full state honours on Thursday at his farmhouse in Donje, near Pune’s Khadakwasla. Family members, colleagues and friends from the film industry, along with several political figures, attended the funeral to pay their last respects.

The actor died at the age of 75 after suffering chest pain at his residence in Goa in the early hours of Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the Maharashtra government had announced that Patekar would be accorded full state honours in recognition of his contribution to Marathi theatre and Hindi and Marathi cinema.

Celebrities like Jackie Shroff, Pravin Tarde, Sajid Nadiadwala and Anil Sharma were among those present at the funeral along with other dignitaries including Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Former Chairperson of the Maharashtra State Women's Commission Roopali Chakankar, Minister of Higher and Technical Education of Maharashtra Chandrakant Patil and Bhai Jagtap and others.

Krantiveer director Mehul Kumar and writer Kiran also attended the funeral.

Patekar, who lived away from the trappings of stardom and embraced a simple, almost farmer-like way of life, had often spoken about his own mortality. During a media interaction while promoting The Vaccine War, the actor revealed that he had kept 12 maunds of dry wood at his Pune farmhouse for his eventual cremation. It was at the same farmhouse that he was cremated on Thursday.

A career that refused to be ordinary

Patekar’s death marks the end of a career that stretched across nearly five decades. He began with Marathi theatre before making his film debut in Gaman in 1978. Over the years, he became known for performances that could be intense, vulnerable, angry, frightening and, sometimes, unexpectedly funny.

Films such as Parinda, Prahaar: The Final Attack, Krantiveer, Khamoshi: The Musical, Wajood, Ab Tak Chhappan, Apaharan and Natsamrat established him as one of Indian cinema’s most respected performers.

Then came Uday Shetty in Welcome (2007), a role that showed another side of Patekar. His comic timing and chemistry with Anil Kapoor’s Majnu Bhai turned the gangster into one of Bollywood’s most loved comic characters. He returned as Uday in Welcome Back in 2015.

Patekar continued to work across Hindi and Marathi cinema in his later years, appearing in films including The Vaccine War, Vanvaas, Housefull 5 and O’Romeo. His work earned him three National Film Awards, several Filmfare honours and the Padma Shri.

But his legacy went beyond the screen. Through the Naam Foundation, Patekar worked on issues affecting farmers, water conservation and drought-hit communities in Maharashtra.

For an actor who spent much of his life playing men who spoke loudly and lived intensely, his final journey was quieter. It ended at his Donje farmhouse, away from the spotlight, as Maharashtra gave one of its most distinctive actors a final farewell with full state honours.

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