Mumbai, Oct 9 (IANS) The late actor Nana Patekar’s son Malhar Patekar has shared the reason behind the final rites of the actor being held after the sunset. As per the traditions, the cremation isn’t done after sunset. Malhar Patekar spoke with the media after the cremation, and explained that the family and his mortal remains were in Goa, and bringing them to his farmhouse took some time considering the long travel.

He also shared that the actor passed away early in the morning, and a lot of time had already passed, and it wasn’t advisable to keep the mortal remains for long.

He told the media, “We were in Goa, and his mortal remains were to be brought to the farmhouse in the village. We expected that we would arrive earlier but it took us some time. He passed away early in the morning so a lot of time had already passed and it was not advisable to keep the mortal remains for long. Hence, we had to do the cremation after the sunset”.

The actor was cremated with full state honours at his farmhouse in Donje in Pune district on Thursday. The actor was given a 3-gun salute.

He also spoke about carrying forward the late actor’s legacy of social work, he shared, “People like him don't go anywhere, they live forever through the work they are immortal. He always told us one thing that we should get together for humanity and work for the betterment of the world. He used to think on the global level. Our social work covered Maharashtra, pan-India including Jammu and Kashmir, we are doing all our social work there in the education and the health sector”.

He further mentioned, “He had already passed on the responsibilities to every single person who deserved it. He had already delegated a lot of work to people who could do justice to it”.

“And, he wanted to start everything from scratch and he wanted to spend his life at a place which demanded something from him in terms of social work. I'll make sure that whatever unfinished business is there, it gets completed. His dreams and my dreams collectively is to work for the people, I will ensure that it gets done”, he added.

The late actor’s friends and members of the film fraternity including Jackie Shroff, directors Anil Sharma, Aneez Bazmee, and producer Firoz nadiadwala arrived at Donje village to attend the last rites of Nana Patekar.

A huge crowd also turned up to bid adieu to the departed soul. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also paid his last respects to Nana Patekar at Pune airport before leaving for Mumbai. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde went to the actor’s Pune farmhouse to pay his respects.

Nana Patekar passed away at the age of 75 in Goa. The actor suffered cardiac arrest. The actor was taken to hospital where doctors attempted CPR and resuscitation for about 45 minutes. However, he was later declared dead on arrival.

Prominent members of the Indian film industry mourned the loss of the actor, as they expressed grief through social media. Bollywood superstar Salman Khan took to the Stories section of his Instagram, and wrote, “Nanaaaaa... Rest in peace bhau”.

Salman’s fellow superstar Ajay Devgn shared his condolences over the demise of the acting legend. He took to his X, formerly Twitter, and shared a still from their film ‘Apaharan’. He also penned a long note, as he lauded the late actor for his powerful presence.

He wrote, “Not many made us happy, sad and feel anger quite the way Nana did. His presence was powerful, his performances unforgettable, and his absence will now be deeply felt. Rest well, Nana. Om Shanti”.

Kamal Haasan took to his X, formerly Twitter, and shared a throwback picture with the screen legend. He also penned a long note, as he wrote, “Heartbreaking news of Nana Patekar Ji’s passing. An extraordinary artist and an even greater human being. The man was a force of nature, and he uplifted the lives of those around him. Beyond the screen, his work helping farmers in Maharashtra and his volunteer service during the Kargil War spoke volumes about his deep sense of duty. My deepest condolences to his family and his legions of fans”.

--IANS

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