Photographer Atul Kasbekar took to his Instagram on Thursday after the news broke to eulogise the actor and share memories of him. Actor Nana Patekar died on October 8 at the age of 75 due to a cardiac arrest. In a poignant moment, he remembered how Nana had prepared firewood for his funeral with ‘morbid humour,’ telling the photographer he was keeping them dry so attendees wouldn’t cry at his cremation due to it.
“The mortal remains will be brought (to Pune) by around 5 PM, and later will be kept for the last ‘darshan’. Atul penned a long note on his Instagram and posted a monochrome photo of the actor, writing, “Nana Saheb. What a man. What a loss. I shared a wonderfully warm relationship with Nana Patekar. He also called the actor ‘Unpredictable. Intense. Fiercely individualistic. The photographer recalled meeting Nana at his Pune farm to shoot a photo for one of his series, and the feast he and his crew were served. No fuss. Just extraordinary generosity from a man who could intimidate an entire film set with one raised eyebrow. Atul then recalled Nana showing him around his property, including the gym where he pulled off a dozen tricep dips. “Stone cold. No warm-up. Show-off!” wrote the photographer of the video that had gone viral then. He then recalled seeing the firewood Nana had prepared for his own funeral. The photographer also wrote that the death of the actor feels like a ‘punch in the guts’, adding, “Rest easy, Nana Saheb. There will never be another quite like you. Nana’s last rites will be performed at his farmhouse in Pune. The farmhouse is located at Donje on the outskirts of Pune city. The actor’s last rites will be held with state honours.
“Every assistant, spot boy and driver was seated in his main dining area, with Nana Saheb personally walking around serving extra rotis and helpings of his famous mutton,” wrote Atul, adding, “No hierarchy. The last rites will be performed on the premises of his farmhouse,” said Ganesh Thorat, the CEO of Patekar’s Naam Foundation, which works for water conservation. We didn’t meet often, but whenever we did, it felt like we’d met yesterday.
