Mumbai, Oct 14 — Actress Varsha Usgaonkar mourned the loss of veteran actor Nana Patekar during her exclusive conversation with IANS.
Varsha said that she feels fortunate to have gotten the opportunity to work with Nana Patekar in the movie 'Tirangaa'.
She further added that she believes if the veteran actor had gotten the necessary medical assistance in time, he might have been saved. Varsha added that with the advancement in medical science, one can easily live up to 100 years now.
Varsha told IANS, "I feel if he (Nana Patekar) had gotten the necessary medical help during that time, he would still be with us today. 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. But unfortunately, he passed away."
"I feel extremely fortunate that I was able to do 'Tirangaa' with him", she added.
Varsha also shared that Nana Patekar had done a wide variety of roles during his career, from comedy to protagonist to an antagonist.
When asked about her favourite performance of Nana Patekar, she said that, according to her, he did some tremendous work in 'Tirangaa'.
Nana Patekar passed away on 8 October 2026 at the age of 75. He suffered a cardiac arrest and was reportedly found unconscious at his home. He was rushed to Manipal Hospital, where doctors attempted to revive him through CPR.
Nana Patekar was cremated with full state honours at his farmhouse in Donje in Pune.
For those who do not know, the Panaji police had registered a case of unnatural death under section 194 of the BNSS under UD No. 62/2026. However, the post-mortem report later confirmed that Nana Patekar's death was natural, ruling out any foul play.
According to the final post-mortem report, the blood supply to the heart was stopped due to a blood clot in the main coronary artery, which led to a cardiac arrest.