Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 8 (ANI): The sudden death of veteran actor Nana Patekar has left filmmaker Anees Bazmee deeply saddened.
Bazmee, who directed Patekar in the popular comedy films ‘Welcome’ and ‘Welcome Back’, said he was still trying to process the news and was not in a state to speak about the loss.
Speaking to ANI, Bazmee said he was unable to find the right words after learning about Patekar’s death and asked for some time to process the loss.
“I’m really sorry, but I’m not in a condition to talk right now. I’m deeply, deeply saddened, and I’m still not able to process what has happened. Please give me some time,” he said.
Bazmee further said that Patekar’s death was an “unbearable loss” for him and that he was not in the right state of mind to speak at length.
“I genuinely don’t have the words or the state of mind to say anything right now. This is an unbearable loss and an unbearable pain for me. I hope you understand. Thank you,” he added.
Deeply shocked….Unbearable pain.. Immeasurable loss… https://t.co/HQelGst60z
— Anees Bazmee (@BazmeeAnees) October 8, 2026
Bazmee and Patekar shared a long-standing professional association. The two first worked together on ‘Welcome’ in 2007, with Patekar playing the much-loved character Uday Shetty, a short-tempered underworld don. The actor returned as Uday Shetty in the 2015 sequel ‘Welcome Back’, also directed by Bazmee.
Patekar died on Thursday at the age of 75 after suffering a severe cardiac arrest at his residence in Goa. He was taken to Manipal Hospital, where doctors tried to revive him for around 45 minutes, but he could not be saved. Dr Shekhar Salkar, Chief of the Oncology Department at Manipal Hospital, confirmed the news to ANI.
According to Dr Salkar, Patekar had sent a message to a friend around 2:30 am saying that he was not feeling well. The friend later reached his residence at around 4 am.
Patekar was one of the well-known actors in Hindi and Marathi cinema. He made his acting debut with ‘Gaman’ in 1978 and went on to feature in films including ‘Parinda’, ‘Prahar’, ‘Angaar’, ‘Krantiveer’, ‘Tiranga’, ‘Khamoshi’ and ‘Ab Tak Chhappan’.
In recent years, Patekar continued to work in films and was seen in ‘Housefull 5’. He also appeared in Vishal Bhardwaj’s ‘O’Romeo’ and had a cameo in ‘Subedar’, starring Anil Kapoor and Radhika Madan. (ANI)
