Nana Patekar dies: Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh lead tributes

News of veteran actor Nana Patekar’s passing emerged on October 8, and the tributes that followed were immediate, emotional and deeply personal. Colleagues remembered not only the performances, but the man behind them.

For a generation of viewers, Patekar was an actor who did not need noise to hold a scene. His presence, his voice and his refusal to imitate anyone else made him one of Hindi cinema’s most distinctive performers.

Akshay Kumar on a rare original

Akshay Kumar, who worked with Patekar in Welcome and reunited with him for Housefull 5, said he was “really saddened” by the loss. He remembered an actor who could make audiences sit up simply by being himself.

“That voice, that intensity, that honesty in every performance… he was completely his own.”

The Housefull 5 star added that he felt fortunate to have shared screen space with Patekar and that he would always hold close to the memories from those sets. He ended with a simple, aching note: “It’s hard to believe you’re gone.”

Riteish Deshmukh and the end of an era

Riteish Deshmukh said he was “shocked beyond words,” describing the news as feeling like a truck had hit him. He listed the roles Patekar could inhabit: a larger-than-life hero, a terrifying villain, and the poker-faced comedy that became a signature of his later work.

Riteish, who shared the screen with Patekar in Bluffmaster and Housefull 5, also remembered the actor’s charity work. “He was a hero off screen too,” he wrote, adding that a Marathi film with Patekar would remain an unfulfilled wish.

Ram Gopal Varma reacts

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma kept his tribute short and raw. “I hate his heart for failing him,” he wrote, and called Patekar the “god of acting.” It was a visceral expression of how sudden and unfair the loss felt to those who knew him.

Why this loss hits hard

Patekar’s career stood apart because he never followed a formula. Here is what colleagues kept returning to in their tributes:

Range: hero, villain and deadpan comic, often in the same career.
Presence: a voice and stare that made stillness magnetic.
Off-screen work: Riteish pointed to his tireless charity efforts.
Influence: a style many admired but no one could copy.

For fans who grew up watching him, Patekar’s death closes a chapter. His performances were not built on packaging; they were built on craft, timing and emotional precision. That is why the word colleagues reach for again and again is “original.”

The industry has lost a performer who belonged to no one but himself. His work, however, will continue to introduce him to new audiences.

Source: Filmfare

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