A SMALL TRIBUTE TO NANA PATEKAR

                                        

Nana Patekar The Soul Of Honest India Is No More

Today India has lost one of her finest sons. Veteran actor, true patriot and great humanitarian Nana Patekar passed away today after a sudden heart attack at his home in Goa. He was seventy five. Doctors at Manipal Hospital tried for forty five minutes with continuous CPR to revive him, but he could not be saved. He was declared dead at five twenty in the morning. The news has left the entire nation stunned, as if a voice that always spoke truth has fallen silent forever. I post this tribute today with a heavy heart and folded hands

The Actor Who Gave Anger A Soul

Nana was never just a film star. He was truth itself on screen. He did not need designer clothes or foreign locations to be loved. He needed only his eyes that could burn with rage and fill with tears in the same moment, and a voice that could shake the theatre. He made acting honest. When he was on screen, you did not see an actor. You saw your father, your brother, your neighbour, your own conscience. His brilliance was that he could say more in silence than others could in pages of dialogue.

The Patriot Who Stood With Brave Soldiers On Borders And Within

This was Nana at his noblest. He did not just play a patriot in Krantiveer. He lived patriotism. He visited our brave soldiers fighting enemies on our borders and also those fighting their hidden agents within the country. During Kargil he went to the front lines, not as a celebrity for cameras, but as a brother who wanted to share their pain. He sat in bunkers, he drank tea in tents, he walked to remote posts in freezing cold, he spent quality time listening to their stories, laughing with them and lauding their supreme sacrifice. He would tell them that India sleeps peacefully only because they stay awake. He respected the uniform more than any National Award or Padma Shri. For him, Bharat was not a slogan to be shouted. She was a mother to be served.

Memorable Roles That Will Live Forever

It is impossible to forget the characters he gave us, because each one lives in our memory as a real person. In Parinda as Anna, the underworld don, he was terrifying and brilliant and won his first National Award. In Ankush as Ravi, the angry young man who cannot find a job and cannot accept injustice, he became the voice of an entire generation.His role as Major V.S. Chavan in Prahaar remains unforgettable.Major V.S. Chavan is a strict, disciplined, and uncompromising Indian Army officer who trains young cadets to become elite commandos.In Krantiveer as Pratap Narayan Tilak, the journalist who screams at a corrupt system, his dialogue became the anthem of every honest Indian. In Agni Sakshi as Vishwanath, the violent husband, he showed how cruelty can destroy love, a performance that still haunts. In Ab Tak Chhappan as Sadhu Agashe, the encounter specialist who lives alone with his principles, he gave us a hero who is tired yet unbroken. In Apaharan as Tabrez Alam, the don from Bihar, he was both funny and fearsome. In Taxi Number Nine Two One One as Raghav Shastri, the arrogant rich man who loses everything, he showed ego collapsing into humanity. In Natsamrat as Ganpatrao Belwalkar, the fallen Shakespearean actor, he gave the greatest performance of his life, a man who once ruled the stage and now has nothing but memories. In Welcome as Uday Shetty, the lovable gangster, he made us laugh till tears came, proving that a great actor can do comedy with the same depth as tragedy.

Each role was different, yet each had the same honesty. That was his magic.

Simplicity In A World Addicted To Show

In an industry known for luxury, Nana lived with striking simplicity. One small flat, plain white clothes, simple chappals and a heart bigger than any palace. He never cared for glamour because he knew what real life looks like. He lived like the farmers he helped, like the soldiers he loved, like the common people he portrayed.

Philanthropy That Wipes Tears And Restores Honour

With his friend Makarand Anaspure he founded Naam Foundation. When drought shattered Maharashtra and farmers were taking their own lives, Nana did not just send money. He went village to village, sat on the ground with widows, held their hands, gave them monthly income, gave water, gave seeds, gave homes, gave education to children and gave hope where there was only despair. He believed that the man who feeds the nation must never have to beg. His greatest awards are not in his cupboard. They are in wells that still give water, in homes that still stand, in children who still go to school because of him.

A Legacy That Will March On

Nana Patekar has left us, but he will never truly go. He will live in every honest man who refuses to pay a bribe, in every soldier who remembers that a true artist once sat beside him and called him brother, in every farmer who remembers that someone came when no one else did.

Rest well dear Nana. You loved India fiercely. India loved you even more fiercely. You were our rage, our pride, our conscience.

Sadgati  And Moksha to your noble  soul Nana .

( Avtar Mota )

PS

Read this also:

https://autarmota.blogspot.com/2016/09/and-bollywood-actor-nana-patekar.html?m=1

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