Varsha Usgaonkar: 75 Was No Age for Nana Patekar to Go

Varsha Usgaonkar has joined the film industry in mourning Nana Patekar, the actor she says she feels fortunate to have worked with in Tirangaa. In a conversation with IANS after his death, she returned to one painful thought: the loss may not have been inevitable.

She told IANS, “75 is not an age to go. Nowadays, medical science has advanced so much that I think a person can live up to 100 years.” Her point was not about blame; it was about timing. Swift and necessary medical care, she suggested, could have made the difference.

What the post-mortem found

Nana Patekar died on October 8 at the age of 75. He was found unconscious at home after a cardiac arrest and was rushed to Manipal Hospital, where doctors attempted CPR. He was later cremated with full state honours at his farmhouse in Donje, Pune.

• Panaji police filed an unnatural-death case under Section 194 of the BNSS as UD No. 62/2026.
• The post-mortem confirmed the death was natural and ruled out foul play.
• A blood clot in the main coronary artery stopped blood supply to the heart, leading to cardiac arrest.

Why the medical detail matters

When a well-known actor dies at home, social media often moves faster than the facts. The formal record here is worth repeating: an unnatural-death case was opened because the death was sudden, not because investigators suspected wrongdoing. The final post-mortem detail is a reminder that cardiac arrest can arrive quietly, even in a life that looks full of energy on screen.

That is presumably why Usgaonkar returns to the phrase “necessary medical help.” A clot is not always survivable, but early care can matter, and her point is the human one: 75 felt too soon.

A co-star’s memory

Asked about her favourite Patekar performance, Usgaonkar picked Tirangaa, saying he did tremendous work in it. She also noted how he moved between comedy, lead roles and villainous turns throughout his career.

That range is why fans are likely to respond differently depending on when they discovered him. For some, he was the comic force of an ensemble; for others, the menacing face of a thriller; for still others, the lead who could hold a film on his shoulders.

For now, the tribute is simple: go back to the work. If Tirangaa is the performance his co-star holds closest, that is a good place to begin. The real celebration is in following his range through the films that made him a fixture of Hindi cinema.

Source: The Times of India