Veteran actor Nana Patekar will be laid to rest at his Pune farm on Thursday evening. The cremation will take place in Donje village, in the Bhor tehsil, Marathi media reports said. The Maharashtra government has announced that he will be given a state funeral. Fans will be allowed to pay their final respects to the legendary actor ahead of the rituals.
"The mortal remains will be brought (to Pune) by around 5 pm, and later will be kept for the last 'darshan'. The last rites will be performed on the premises of his farmhouse," said Ganesh Thorat, the CEO of Patekar's Naam Foundation, which works for water conservation.
Patekar is suspected to have suffered a heart attack while at his Goa residence. The actor was brought to a private hospital after he was found unconscious at his apartment in Dona Paula, near Panaji, Dr Shekhar Salkar, a senior doctor at the medical facility, said.
Despite being administered CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) for 45 minutes, Patekar could not be revived and was declared dead at 5:10 am, he said. He was 76.
A medico-legal case has been registered in this connection, and a post-mortem examination will be conducted, he added.
Patekar hoped for a simple farewell
Meanwhile, the Hindi media uncovered an instance from 2023 when Patekar talked about his final journey. As per these reports, Patekar spoke in detail about the final journey he thought was ideal. Having lived a simple life, he dreamed of a simple farewell.
During the promotion of his film The Vaccine War in 2023, Nana Patekar reportedly said, "I have lived a simple life. I neither live under any misconceptions nor do I keep anyone under any misconceptions. I believe in death. I have kept 12 maunds of wood for myself. Burn me with that very wood.
"Do not burn me with wet wood. Wet wood will produce smoke and make people’s eyes water. After that, people will start crying. Do not cry for me. There is no need to cry for me. Nor should you put a garland on my photograph. I do not want to leave this world under the misconception that people cried for me," the Hindi report further quoted him as saying in 2023.
Patekar had said that his parents, brother, and sisters had all passed away and that he was alone. He reportedly believed that his death would help him reunite with them.
