Mahesh Manjrekar says Nana Patekar suffered for no reason because of Tanushree Dutta row, says people on set told him nothing had happened

Reflecting on the allegations against Nana Patekar, Mahesh Manjrekar said the controversy caused his friend needless suffering.

Actor and filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar recently remembered his late friend and actor Nana Patekar. The filmmaker expressed regret over not being able to meet Nana one last time before his death on October 8. He also revisited the Tanushree Dutta controversy involving the late actor, claiming that it was brought back into the spotlight without any reason.

'The controversy was highlighted for no reason'

Mahesh Manjrekar opened up on Nana Patekar's death.

Speaking to News18 Marathi, Mahesh said he was familiar with everyone who was present on the sets of the film Horn Ok Pleassss and knew what had transpired during the shoot. He claimed that the controversy was unnecessarily highlighted. He said, "Some people are like that. Even if everyone supports them and one person doesn't, they will not like it. It is okay. But then they bring up an old matter. I know what happened that day. Everyone on the set was known to me, and I also know who was present there. It was highlighted for no reason."

'Nana suffered a lot for no reason'

Mahesh further claimed that he had spoken to people who were present on the sets and that they had told him nothing had happened. He expressed sadness over the impact the controversy had on Nana. He said, "Everyone I knew on the sets had told me that nothing had happened. Nothing at all had happened. Nana suffered a lot for no reason. One should ignore such things. But because of social media, everybody has their own opinion, and there is no cure for this."

What was the Nana Patekar-Tanushree Dutta controversy?

The allegations resurfaced in September 2018, when Tanushree spoke about the incident in an interview, helping trigger India's #MeToo movement in the entertainment industry. In October 2018, she filed an FIR against Nana, Ganesh, Rakesh and Samee. Nana consistently denied the allegations.In June 2019, Mumbai Police filed a B-summary closure report, citing insufficient evidence to support Tanushree's allegations.

After Nana's death, Tanushree again spoke about the controversy and shared videos on social media, bringing the allegations back into public discussion.

About Nana Patekar's death

Veteran actor Nana Patekar died on October 8, 2026, at the age of 75. He was rushed to a hospital, where doctors attempted to revive him with CPR for around 45 minutes but could not save him. He passed away at a hospital in Goa. His postmortem report later confirmed that he died of a heart attack.