The friendship between Amitabh Bachchan and Nana Patekar was not built on public declarations. It lived in small rhythms: a message every other day, a film launch shared in 1999, a television reunion in 2024. On Friday evening, a day after Nana Patekar died at 75, Amitabh Bachchan opened that history on Instagram.
The carousel that did the remembering
The 83-year-old actor posted a set of videos rather than a long statement. The selected clips stretch across nearly 30 years of professional association.
- A clip from the muhurat — the ceremonial start — of the 1999 film Kohram shows Amitabh Bachchan, Nana Patekar and Jackie Shroff in a playful exchange on stage.
- Interview clips show Nana Patekar talking about Amitabh Bachchan.
- The most recent frames are from 2024, when Nana Patekar appeared on Kaun Banega Crorepati.
There was no elaborate caption. The edit itself was the tribute.
‘Aaj unka message nahi aaya’
On his blog, Amitabh Bachchan made the loss feel immediate. He wrote that the two actors stayed in touch through messages every other day, then added the line that gives the post its weight: “Aaj unka message nahi aaya” — “Today, he didn’t message me.” He began the note with “Stabdh!”, meaning speechless.
That detail matters because fans rarely see this private rhythm. It turns a public farewell into something smaller and more precise: a routine that suddenly stopped.
A tribute built on work
Amitabh Bachchan had already paid tribute to Nana Patekar on Kaun Banega Crorepati, praising his screen presence, his uncompromising honesty and his long commitment to humanitarian work. The new post adds the visual history behind those words.
Nana Patekar died at his residence in Goa on Thursday and could not be revived after being rushed to hospital. He was cremated with full state honours at his Donje farmhouse in Pune on Thursday night. Tributes followed from the film industry and from the Prime Minister and President.
Why fans will return to these clips
For Hindi cinema lovers, the carousel is more than news. It is a small archive of a less noisy era: two actors meeting on the set of Kohram, then meeting again on television 25 years later, while the friendship continued quietly in the gaps between public appearances.
Source: Hindustan Times