Indian actor and filmmaker Nana Patekar dies at 75

Advertisement

Advertise with us

NEW DELHI (AP) — Nana Patekar, an acclaimed Indian actor and filmmaker, died Thursday at his home in the western state of Goa. He was 75.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Nana Patekar, an acclaimed Indian actor and filmmaker, died 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.

Indian actor and filmmaker Nana Patekar listens to a question from a journalist during the trailer launch of his film in Mumbai, India, Sept. 12, 2023. (AP Photo)
Indian actor and filmmaker Nana Patekar listens to a question from a journalist during the trailer launch of his film in Mumbai, India, Sept. 12, 2023. (AP Photo)

Patekar made his film debut in the 1978 Hindi film “Gaman,” and later earned acclaim for “Parinda” and “Krantiveer.” Patekar became popular in mainstream Bollywood films, while also working in India’s “parallel cinema” movement, known for its focus on realism and social issues. He gained wider international recognition with filmmaker Mira Nair’s Oscar-nominated “Salaam Bombay!”

He won three National Film Awards, India’s highest film honors, and received the Padma Shri, one of the country’s highest civilian honors.

In 2018, during India’s #MeToo movement, a Bollywood actress accused Patekar of sexual harassment on a film set. Patekar denied the allegation. The case was among several that drew attention as women publicly spoke about sexual misconduct in India’s film industry.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi mourned Patekar’s death, praising his “intensity, individuality and unmistakable presence” as an actor.

“He brought remarkable versatility and creativity to every role and gave us characters that will be remembered for generations,” Modi wrote on X.

Patekar is survived by his wife and son.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Powerful allegory, magic wonder as ballet takes on Stravinsky

Holly Harris 5 minute read Preview

Powerful allegory, magic wonder as ballet takes on Stravinsky

Holly Harris 5 minute read Yesterday at 6:50 PM CDT

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet opened its mainstage season with fire and ice Thursday, as it paid homage to Russian composer Igor Stravinsky with Stravinsky Stories.

Local balletomanes may remember Alexei Ratmansky as a principal dancer during the early 1990s. The internationally renowned dance artist returns in a full-circle moment to stage The Fairy’s Kiss, the 50-minute work his first collaboration with the RWB in more than 30 years. He began flexing his choreographic muscles in its downtown studios with an earlier, reimagined incarnation in 1994, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Ice Maiden, in turn set to Stravinsky’s own tribute to Tchaikovsky’s lushly romantic ballet scores.

Its narrative follows the journey of a Young Man (newly minted principal dancer Skylar Campbell, with all leads alternating) saved — and kissed — by a Fairy (principal dancer Elizabeth Lamont, who rips off a dizzying set of “fouettes”) after his Mother (former principal dancer Vanessa Léonard adding her own gravitas) perishes in a blizzard.

After falling in love with his fiancée (principal dancer Alanna McAdie, infusing her character with innocent youthfulness grounded by intricate footwork), he is tricked on his wedding day by the now disguised Fairy who reveals her true identity — and his ultimate destiny.

Read
Yesterday at 6:50 PM CDT

Bit of creepy consultation could go a long way

Maureen Scurfield 5 minute read Yesterday at 2:01 AM CDT

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: Halloween has always been my favourite time of year. I do my house up with lots of spooky lighting and characters on the lawn with eerie sounds booming out.

But last year I got seriously hassled by some people in the neighbourhood who thought it was too creepy. How do I get them on board this year? I don’t want to fight with them again.

— Want to Be Good Neighbour, River Heights

Dear Good Neighbour: Go to your close neighbours and explain what you want to do with your yard for Halloween this year, and also provide them with a firm time by which the celebrating will wrap up and things can quiet down.

Stuart-Stevenson tandem gives Jets time for best Hellebuyck trade deal

Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe 8 minute read Preview

Stuart-Stevenson tandem gives Jets time for best Hellebuyck trade deal

Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe 8 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 7:30 PM CDT

A weekly lap around the NHL by Free Press hockey writers Ken Wiebe and Mike McIntyre

The New York Islanders are first-overall. The Calgary Flames are in the league basement.

We’re talking about goaltending, specifically the metric of “goals against above expected” as tracked by the Money Puck website which factors in shot quality and location and is a much better measure than traditional numbers such as goals-against-average and even save percentage, which can be heavily influenced by team factors.

In a nutshell, you want to be as high as possible on this list, suggesting your masked men are doing their job by stopping everything they should — and hopefully a few more. The lower you are in the 32-team league, the more likely you have a leaky crease.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 7:30 PM CDT

Puzzles Palace

1 minute read Monday, Jul. 27, 2026

To solve our puzzles, please subscribe with this special offer: |

Get to know your Jet: Mario Ferraro

Mike McIntyre 8 minute read Preview

Get to know your Jet: Mario Ferraro

Mike McIntyre 8 minute read Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026

A one-on-one conversation with a Winnipeg Jet about the stuff you don't always hear in the media scrum

Read
Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026

Late philanthropist, family fill Harvest’s Empty Bowls with record-setting $5-M donation

Morgan Modjeski 3 minute read Preview

Late philanthropist, family fill Harvest’s Empty Bowls with record-setting $5-M donation

Morgan Modjeski 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 11:54 PM CDT

It was a record-breaking night for Harvest Manitoba made possible by a genuine Winnipeg hero and his family.

The organization’s annual Empty Bowls Celebrity Auction Dinner on Thursday raised $6.5 million to support Manitobans facing hunger and food insecurity.

And it was a $5-million legacy donation from late city philanthropist Doug Harvey and his family that will see the event go down in the history books as the largest gala fundraising total ever recorded in Manitoba.

“There was literally nothing that lit my dad up more than contributing himself, but even more so, inspiring others to give,” his daughter Lauren Harvey said Friday.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 11:54 PM CDT