Veteran Indian actor Vishwanath ‘Nana’ Patekar has died at the age of 75 after suffering what appears to be cardiac arrest at his residence in Goa on Thursday morning, according to Indian media reports.
A medical team went to Patekar’s residence after receiving complaints that he had chest pain and found the actor unconscious. The team attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation before taking him to hospital, an Indian news agency quoted Dr Shehkar Salkar, head of oncology at Goa’s Manipal Hospital, as saying.
Doctors declared Patekar dead early Thursday morning. Dr Salkar said that authorities had registered a medico-legal case and will conduct a post-mortem examination.
A video clip shows Dr Shehkar telling media that Patekar messaged a friend around 2:30 am that he was not feeling well. Later, as his friend was sleeping and had not responded, the actor called the friend. When help arrived at his house, he was found unresponsive. CPR was administered immediately before he was taken to the hospital at 4:30 am. Despite prolonged CPR at the hospital, Patekar was declared dead around 5:30 am.
Patekar worked across Hindi and Marathi cinema during a career that spanned 48 years. He also appeared in a handful of Tamil and Kannada films. He made his film debut in the 1978 movie Gaman.
He later appeared in Mira Nair’s Academy Award-nominated film Salaam Bombay!, adding to a career that included roles across different genres and languages.
Patekar won three National Awards during his career. He received the Best Supporting Actor award for Parinda and Agni Sakshi, while he won the Best Actor award for Krantiveer.
In 2013, the Indian government awarded Patekar the Padma Shri, the country’s fourth-highest civilian honour.
Patekar also reached a younger audience with his role as gangster Uday Shetty in the 2007 crime comedy Welcome. His performance in the film became one of his widely recognised roles among younger fans.
