Nana Patekar's last words were 'Love you, Bala': Tukaram Mundhe

Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe mourned the demise of his close friend, veteran actor Nana Patekar. Mundhe recalled their last conversation and said the actor's final words to him were, 'Love you, Bala'. He will be forever with us, he said.

Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe expressed grief over the demise of veteran actor Nana Patekar, recalling their close friendship and saying the actor would remain with him and others forever. Mundhe said he had interacted frequently with Patekar and that their last conversation took place about a week ago, when the actor enquired about his family and children. “He was a very close friend of mine. Our last interaction was just one week ago, and we interacted as usual. It was very lovely. He asked about my family and my children, how they were. And the last words he said were, ‘Love you, Bala.’ I think that’s typical Nana, love to everybody. He will be forever with us and with me,” Mundhe said.

A Friendship Remembered

Recalling their first meeting in 2015, Mundhe said he was then serving as the District Collector of Solapur and Patekar had visited the district for his work under Naam. “We first met in 2015 when I was the District Collector of Solapur, and he had come there for his work under Naam. When he came, we had lunch at my residence, the Collector’s residence in Solapur. Our friendship grew from there,” he said.

Mundhe said that although they could not meet frequently, they remained in regular contact over the years. “In between, he used to call, and we used to interact. We could not meet frequently, but our interaction was continuous,” he said.

Recalling a programme they had planned together, Mundhe said the date had not been finalised, but Patekar was supposed to interview him at a public programme where they would share the stage. “One of the things that finally remained was something that we had planned. The date was not finalised, but we were supposed to share the same stage at a public programme, where he was to interview me. Unfortunately, it couldn’t happen,” Mundhe said.

Nana Patekar's Sudden Demise

Nana Patekar died after suffering a severe cardiac arrest. He was taken to Manipal Hospital, where doctors tried to revive him for around 45 minutes. Dr Shekhar Salkar, Chief of the Oncology Department at Manipal Hospital, confirmed the news to ANI.

According to Dr Salkar, Nana had sent a message to a friend at around 2:30 am saying that he was not feeling well. The friend later reached his residence at around 4 am.

A Celebrated Career

Nana Patekar was a celebrated actor who made a significant mark in both Hindi and Marathi cinema. He began his acting career with the 1978 film 'Gaman' and went on to deliver acclaimed performances in movies such as 'Parinda', 'Prahar', 'Angaar', 'Krantiveer', 'Tiranga', 'Khamoshi' and 'Ab Tak Chhappan'.

Even in recent years, Patekar remained active in films. The 75-year-old actor featured in Housefull 5, alongside Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh and others. He also played a police officer in Vishal Bhardwaj’s O’Romeo, which stars Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri. Patekar further made a cameo appearance in Subedar, featuring Anil Kapoor and Radhika Madan.

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