New Delhi: Nana Patekar did not speak about death like most actors do. There was no attempt to make it sound poetic or mysterious. He treated it with the same bluntness that came through in his conversations about politicians, farmers and his own life.
He had also once made another blunt comment about death. He had even thought about his own funeral in his own irreverent way. He joked that wet wood would create smoke and make people cry for the wrong reason.
The words have taken on a different meaning after the legedary actor died in Goa on Thursday (October 8) at the age of 75.
In an old interview, he had said, “Jab nikalna hai, nikalna hai (when it is time to leave, you leave). He said he kept dry wood ready for the day he would be cremated.
You should decide which government will come to power. That effort eventually became the Naam Foundation with actor Makarand Anaspure. Because i am an outspoken person, he also said, “I can’t join politics,. Because of you, he also asked politicians, “You politicians will join hands again, but what about families that get divided.
In March 2024, at a farmers’ gathering in Nashik, Patekar told the peasants, “You should not wait for good times, but you should bring in good times through tenacity. At an event featuring former Chief Minister Shinde and Chief Minister Fadnavis, Patekar asked why a corporator could earn crores after getting elected when former Maharashtra Chief Minister Y B Chavan had only Rs 25,000 in his bank account when he died. His intervention in the lives of farmers began with a television programme in 2015. He later recalled that he had saved Rs 1.5 crore to buy a luxury car when he watched an interview with the family of a farmer who had died by suicide. He abandoned the car plan and decided to give Rs 15,000 each to 1,000 farmers.
He said what disturbed him was the hunger he could see in the family’s eyes.
