Veteran actor Nana Patekar died on October 8 after a cardiac arrest at his residence in Dona Paula, Goa. He was 75. His son Malhar confirmed to local media that he was found unconscious, taken to Manipal Hospital, and declared dead around 5:20 am after doctors tried to revive him for approximately 45 minutes.
A three-time National Award winner, Nana Patekar was one of Hindi cinema’s sharpest actors—intense on screen and famously private away from it. He was also known for philanthropy and for a close association with the Indian Army as a member of the Territorial Army, often raising funds for veterans and the families of soldiers.
Nana Patekar’s Kargil chapter is the story many fans are returning to after his death.
When he paused films for the front
In 1999, as the Kargil War raged, Nana Patekar put his acting career on hold and asked to serve at the front. He had lived and trained with the Maratha Light Infantry for three years in the early 1990s while writing his film Prahaar.
When the war broke out, he contacted senior officers in the division and requested to join the men on the front. He was refused and told that only the defence minister could approve such a posting.
So Nana called then Defence Minister George Fernandes, whom he already knew. On Kaun Banega Crorepati, he recalled that Fernandes first said it was impossible. Nana explained that while the commission course ran six months, he had already trained for three years. Fernandes then asked, “When do you want to go?”
Nana spent more than a fortnight close to the Line of Control in August 1999. He helped the soldiers, worked for several days at the hospital on the base, and served as part of the Quick Response Team.
The conditions were hard. “I was 76 kg when I reached Srinagar. By the time I came back, I was 56 kg,” he recalled. That meant he lost 20 kg during his time at the front.
Why this still matters
The story explains the texture behind Nana Patekar’s work and causes. He did not only prepare for a film about military life; he lived with the Army, and when war came, he asked to be useful. That commitment is rare in any industry, and it is why his passing resonates beyond his filmography.
- Trained with the Maratha Light Infantry for three years while writing Prahaar.
- Got special clearance from then Defence Minister George Fernandes to serve at Kargil.
- Spent over a fortnight near the LoC and dropped from 76 kg to 56 kg.
For an audience that remembers his dialogue delivery and his restless characters, the Kargil story is another side of the same discipline: a star who could move from film set to frontline without fanfare.
Source: Hindustan Times