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Nana Patekar lived in a modest 1 BHK despite millionaire status; he bought the Mumbai home for ₹1.1 lakh decades ago and shared it with his mother
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Nana Patekar died in the early hours of Thursday after suffering a cardiac arrest at his residence in Goa. A medico-legal case has been registered.
Veteran actor Nana Patekar died in the early hours of Thursday after suffering a cardiac arrest at his residence in Goa. According to Dr Shekhar Salkar, Chief of the Department of Oncology at Manipal Hospital, the actor was found unconscious at his apartment and was taken to a private medical facility. Doctors tried to revive him for around 45 minutes, but he could not be saved and was declared dead at approximately 5:10 am. Dr Salkar said Patekar remained in asystole, meaning there was no electrical activity in his heart, throughout the resuscitation attempts. A medico-legal case has been registered and a post-mortem is expected to be conducted.
For an actor who spent more than four decades in the film industry and earned considerable wealth, Nana's life away from the camera was strikingly modest. In Mumbai, he continued to live in a 1 BHK apartment in Andheri that he had reportedly purchased decades ago for around ₹1.1 lakh. The approximately 750-square-foot home is now estimated to be worth around ₹3 crore.
A simple home despite decades of fame
Nana Patekar had shared the Andheri home with his mother Nirmala Patekar for several years. Following her death in January 2019, he continued to stay there whenever he was in Mumbai. He often travelled between Mumbai, Pune and Goa.
He also owned a 27-acre farmhouse in Khadakwasla near Pune, where he was reportedly involved in farming. The farmhouse was known for its simple wooden interiors and terracotta flooring rather than an extravagant celebrity aesthetic. The actor cultivated crops such as wheat and paddy there and was reportedly known to share the proceeds with farmers and labourers. His other properties included a home on Law College Road in Pune, a residence in Goa and property in his native Murud.
The hardship that shaped Nana Patekar
Nana's approach to life was also rooted in the difficult circumstances of his childhood. Born Vishwanath Patekar on January 1, 1951, in Murud-Janjira, Maharashtra, he grew up in a family that was initially financially comfortable. His father, Gajanan Patekar, ran a textile business, while his mother, Nirmala Patekar, was a homemaker.
The family's financial situation changed drastically after a close relative reportedly cheated them, leaving them without their wealth and savings. He was still young when his family went from being financially secure to struggling to survive. At 13, he began working to help support the family. After school, he would reportedly walk several kilometres to paint film posters, earning around ₹35 a month along with food. The experience of poverty and the humiliation that came with it stayed with him even after he became a successful actor.
Nana later spoke about how those years shaped him. The hardships gave him an understanding of people and their struggles that, in his view, no acting school could have taught him.
From painting film posters to becoming a National Award-winning actor
Nana Patekar made his film debut with the 1978 film Gaman. His major breakthrough came with Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Parinda, for which he won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Over the years, he became known for playing characters who were rarely straightforward. Films such as Prahaar, Angaar, Krantiveer, Tiranga, Khamoshi: The Musical, Ab Tak Chhappan, Apaharan and the Marathi classic Natsamrat showcased his ability to play anger, vulnerability, authority and inner conflict with equal conviction.
Nana remained active in the later years of his career, although he was selective about his projects. He appeared in Housefull 5 with Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh. He also played a police officer in Vishal Bhardwaj's O' Romeo, starring Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri, and appeared in Subedaar alongside Anil Kapoor and Radhikka Madan.
His family
Nana largely kept his personal life away from the spotlight. He married Neelakanti Patekar in 1978, but the couple later separated. They had two sons, one of whom died in infancy. Their surviving son is Malhar Patekar.
He was honoured with the Padma Shri for his contribution to Indian cinema and remained a respected figure across both Hindi and Marathi cinema.
