A gangster, a vigilante and an abusive husband: Nana Patekar's National Award roles
Parinda, Krantiveer and Agni Sakshi won the late actor three National Film Awards
Dubai: Veteran actor Nana Patekar has died at the age of 75.
He was found unconscious at his home in Dona Paula, Goa, early on Thursday, October 8, and was taken to Manipal Hospital. Doctors performed CPR for around 45 minutes but could not revive him. A hospital doctor told news agency ANI that he died at 5.20am India time, which is 3.50am UAE time, after a severe cardiac arrest.
Over a career spanning more than four decades, Patekar won three National Film Awards, all for films released between 1989 and 1996. The three roles were very different: an underworld boss, a reluctant vigilante and an abusive husband.
Parinda (1989): Best Supporting Actor
Patekar won his first National Award for Vidhu Vinod Chopra's crime drama Parinda.
He played Anna, the underworld boss and the film's antagonist, opposite Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit. The film was loosely inspired by Marlon Brando's On the Waterfront and was India's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1990 Academy Awards, though it was not nominated.
The role also won him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Parinda's editor, Renu Saluja, won a National Award for her work on the film too.
Krantiveer (1994): Best Actor
Five years later, Patekar won Best Actor for Mehul Kumar's Krantiveer.
He played Pratap Narayan Tilak, a man who turns against the corruption and crime around him. The cast included Dimple Kapadia, Atul Agnihotri, Mamta Kulkarni, Paresh Rawal and Danny Denzongpa.
Krantiveer was the third-highest-grossing Hindi film of 1994 and was his first major hit as a leading man. It also won him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor, and Dimple Kapadia won Best Supporting Actress for her role.
Agni Sakshi (1996): Best Supporting Actor
His third National Award came for Partho Ghosh's Agni Sakshi, in which he played Vishwanath, a controlling and abusive husband who stalks his wife after she escapes him.
The film starred Manisha Koirala as his wife and Jackie Shroff as her new partner. It was inspired by the 1991 Julia Roberts film Sleeping with the Enemy, and The Indian Express listed it among the biggest hits of 1996.
Patekar received the award in 1997, his second National Award for Best Supporting Actor.
More awards and later roles
Patekar did not win another National Award, but he collected several other honours.
He won the Filmfare Award for Best Villain twice, for Angaar in 1992 and for Prakash Jha's Apaharan in 2005. In 2017, he won the Filmfare Marathi Award for Best Actor for Natsamrat.
His later films include Ab Tak Chhappan, Welcome and Kaala, and his recent work includes Vishal Bhardwaj's O'Romeo, released earlier this year.
His final public appearance
Patekar's last public appearance was on October 4 at an installation ceremony for the Samraat Club International in Dona Paula.
Speaking about his late friend Manohar Parrikar, the former chief minister of Goa, he talked about mortality.
"We all have to go someday. I don't know whether I will be here tomorrow or not," he said.
The Maharashtra government has said he will be cremated with full state honours.
