Mumbai : Actor Rajpal Yadav expressed grief over the sudden demise of Nana Patekar, who passed away on the morning of October 8.

Speaking to ANI, Rajpal prayed for Nana Patekar's soul. 

"Wherever Nana Bhai is, I pray that he finds peace and happiness. I pray for his soul. I wish this news had been untrue. I never imagined he would leave us so soon. I always thought we would see him working and entertaining us well into his 90s or even 100s. It’s truly difficult to believe that he is gone," he said. 

Veteran actor Raza Murad also paid his heartfelt condolences. Recalling Nana Patekar’s generosity, he said that the veteran actor had done a great deal for society and contributed extensively to charitable causes.

"My heart and mind simply refuse to accept that Nana Patekar is no longer among us. He was physically and mentally so strong, possessing such immense willpower. There has never been anyone else like him in the industry; he stood apart from the rest... If he charged ₹1 crore for a film, he would donate ₹90 lakhs to charity. He adopted entire villages and helped farmers, yet he practised the kind of charity where the right hand did not know what the left hand was giving. He never sought publicity for it... There will never be another Nana Patekar," Raza Murad said. 

Nana Patekar died after suffering a severe cardiac arrest. He was taken to Manipal Hospital, where doctors tried to revive him for around 45 minutes.

Dr Shekhar Salkar, Chief of the Oncology Department at Manipal Hospital, confirmed the news to ANI.

According to Dr Salkar, Nana had sent a message to a friend at around 2:30 am saying that he was not feeling well. The friend later reached his residence at around 4 am.

Nana was one of the well-known actors in Hindi and Marathi cinema. He made his acting debut with the 1978 film Gaman and went on to work in films including Parinda, Prahar, Angaar, Krantiveer, Tiranga, Khamoshi and Ab Tak Chhappan, which eventually led to him gaining legendary status. His Marathi drama film Natsamrat proved to be a game-changer as well.

In recent years, Nana was seen in Housefull 5 and also appeared in Vishal Bhardwaj’s O’Romeo, starring Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri. (ANI)