Nana Patekar, the veteran Hindi film actor whose coiled intensity made him one of the screen’s most distinctive presences, died in Goa on October 8, 2026. He was 75. A cardiac arrest was cited as the cause, and his body was taken to Pune for cremation with state honours. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the tributes, and Anupam Kher called Patekar one of Indian cinema’s finest actors and human beings.
Within hours, however, the mourning met another part of the actor’s public record. In 2018, Tanushree Dutta alleged that Patekar harassed her on the set of Horn Ok Pleassss in 2008. Her account became a catalyst for India’s #MeToo movement. On the day of his death, Dutta posted an Instagram video while travelling to Lucknow for an event, said she had heard the news, and called the timing strange.
The video that split the response
In the video, Dutta said her day was planned around work and that she was unsure whether the evening would belong to her event or to what she called “Evil Dead.” She began to offer condolences to the family, then the clip cut off.
The reaction was divided. Suresh Shyamlal Gupta of the All India Cine Workers Association called the phrase “Evil Dead” objectionable and insensitive, and said the organisation condemned it. Actor Sandhya Mridul pushed back, writing that a death does not automatically erase harm, and that a survivor’s experience does not become less real when public tributes dominate. Singer Sona Mohapatra said she had no quarrel with mourning Patekar, but questioned why Dutta was being attacked for not performing grief.
“Dying shouldn’t erase uncomfortable chapters of someone’s life,” Mohapatra said.
An unresolved case, a longer record
Dutta’s allegation concerns a 2008 song shoot. She said Patekar sought an “intimate step,” and when she refused, workers of the MNS and media were called; she described threats and damage to her car. Patekar denied the claims. A police complaint and a court case did not move forward, with authorities citing lack of evidence.
That unresolved status is central to the current argument. There is no verdict to report, only a documented accusation, a denial, and a movement that followed.
What this asks of public memory
- Tributes: The prime minister, chief minister and colleagues honoured a long career, and the funeral carried state recognition.
- Survivor memory: Dutta’s #MeToo account remains a defining chapter of 2018 for many, and her supporters argue grief cannot demand silence.
- The gap: With no court finding, Hindi cinema is left holding acclaim and allegation side by side.
For a newspaper of record, the task is not to choose one version of Nana Patekar. It is to note that both stories exist in the archive—and that his death has made that archive public again.
Source: ED Times | Youth Media Channel
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