SRK mourns Nana Patekar: 'Too soon my Hero Actor, RIP'

Shah Rukh Khan mourns Nana Patekar in a long emotional note; says, 'He would shout at you first, and then somewhere between the third or fourth insult, you realised you were being hugged'

Shah Rukh Khan has paid an emotional tribute to Nana Patekar, who died on October 8 at the age of 75 in Goa. The superstar shared a long note on social media, remembering his first meeting with the veteran actor and the honest, tough-love guidance that shaped his approach to acting.

What Shah Rukh Khan wrote about Nana Patekar

Shah Rukh Khan began with a memory of their first meeting. He wrote, “When I first met him, out of awe and awkwardness, I fiddled with my hair. He slapped my hand away and said, 'Hero ki tarah Baal mat bana...tu actor hai’!"He described the late actor as a man who never flattered anyone and always told people what they needed to hear. According to SRK, the actor was rough, honest and had a beautiful smile.Talking about their bond, Shah Rukh Khan wrote, "He always had a strange way of showing affection.

He would shout at you first, and then somewhere between the third or fourth insult, you realised you were being hugged. He loved me, and I loved him back."He also remembered Nana Patekar as a mentor, teacher, critic and friend who kept beating everyone at carrom and enjoyed every win.Shah Rukh went on to say, "You have left a void not only in the world of cinema but in the hearts of all Indians and the world." He ended with the advice he will carry with him forever, ‘hero banne ke chakar mein actor mat khona’, and signed off with, "Too soon my Hero Actor! RIP.”

Nana Patekar’s remarkable body of work

Born Vishwanath Patekar, Nana began his acting journey with ‘Gaman’ in 1978. Over the years, he became one of the most distinctive performers in Hindi and Marathi cinema. His breakthrough came with films such as ‘Ankush’, ‘Pratighaat’, ‘Salaam Bombay!’ and ‘Parinda’.He was also widely praised for ‘Prahaar: The Final Attack’, ‘Angaar’, ‘Tirangaa’, ‘Krantiveer’, ‘Agni Sakshi’, ‘Khamoshi: The Musical’, ‘Ab Tak Chhappan’, ‘Apaharan’ and ‘Raajneeti’. Audiences also loved him as the good-hearted gangster Uday Shetty in ‘Welcome’ and ‘Welcome Back’.His upcoming crime thriller ‘The Confession’ is yet to release. Over his career, he won three National Film Awards and received the Padma Shri in 2013.