Anupam Kher in tears over Nana Patekar's death, after losing Satish Kaushik: 'It's not fair'

Dubai: Anupam Kher was in Washington, DC, when he heard that his friend Nana Patekar had died.

The veteran actor had just finished a stage performance and taken his curtain call. In an emotional video on Instagram, Kher said he learnt the news as soon as he walked backstage.

Nana Patekar died early on Thursday, October 8, after a cardiac arrest at his home in Goa. He was 75.

In his caption, Kher described the moment he heard the news, on a night when he still had to meet audience members after the show.

"A couple of hours ago, I received the heartbreaking news that my friend Nana Patekar, one of the finest actors and human beings in Indian cinema, is no more. I had just finished our performance and taken the curtain call. As I walked into the wings, my director Gajendra told me, 'Nana is no more.' After that, I had to meet people, pose for photographs, smile, sit down for a meal... while trying to absorb what I had just heard. It was terribly difficult."

He said he believed Nana would have wanted him to carry on.

"But somewhere, I felt that Nana would have wanted me to finish my work. Fulfil my responsibility to the people who had come to see us. And then, perhaps, remember him."

In the video, Kher was in tears as he spoke about his friend.

"It's terrible, it's not fair. Some people, we think will never go, and Nana was one of them. He was larger than life. He had the largest heart in the world. Nana's anger was all kindness. It's not right, he should have not gone."

The two actors worked together on several films, including Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 1989 crime drama Parinda, and were close for decades. Kher said that whenever they met, Nana would pretend to be angry with him, and Kher would sing a song to cheer him up.

He also said he had recently passed Nana's house and promised to visit him the next time he was in town.

"He shouldn't have left like this, this is wrong. This shouldn't have happened. With some people this thing should never happen. There was a sense of belonging in his scolding. He would sometimes even scold without any reason."

Kher said Nana would sometimes call him without warning to praise his work. He had seen him only a couple of months ago.

"It's shocking, unreal and real at the same time. He was just 75 and a healthy, strong 75-year-old man. I'll miss you. I'll miss you more than words could ever say."

In his caption, Kher said Nana would have dismissed the idea of a tribute altogether, and quoted the line he imagined his friend saying in Hindi:

"Oh, so what? What's the big deal if someone dies? Everyone dies!"

"That was Nana. Direct, unpretentious, with his own way of saying even the most difficult things," Kher wrote. "I will miss you, my friend. Your warmth. Your hugs. Your extraordinary performances. And whenever I miss seeing you, I will watch your films. Though today, I wish I could simply hug you one more time."

This is the second time in three years that Kher has lost a close friend to a heart condition.

Actor and director Satish Kaushik died on March 9, 2023, at the age of 66, after a heart attack in Gurugram. He fell ill in Delhi and his condition worsened on the way to hospital.

Nana Patekar was found unconscious at his home in Dona Paula, Goa, early on Thursday and was taken to Manipal Hospital. Doctors tried to revive him for around 45 minutes but could not save him.

The Maharashtra government has announced that he will be cremated with full state honours. He is survived by his wife, Neelakanti, and his son, Malhar.