Mumbai, Oct 8 (IANS) Celebrity photographer Atul Kasbekar remembered veteran actor Nana Patekar following his demise on October 8, recalling their warm relationship and sharing a deeply personal anecdote from one of their meetings.
Atul Kasbekar revealed that Nana Patekar had once shown him a stack of firewood he had prepared for his own funeral, adding that the actor had joked about not wanting people to cry at his funeral merely because smoke from wet wood had got into their eyes.
Sharing a series of memories, Kasbekar wrote on his social media account, “Nana Saheb. What a man. What a loss. I shared a wonderfully warm relationship with Nana Patekar. We didn’t meet often, but whenever we did, it felt like we’d met yesterday. He was particularly proud that a fellow Maharashtrian had made a name in photography. Always a warm word, invariably laced with his trademark acidic wit.”
He added, “Unpredictable. Intense. Fiercely individualistic. Nana Saheb didn’t enter a room. He took possession of it. One of my most cherished memories is photographing him for my exhibition HONEST: Portraits of Character, possibly among his last formal portrait sessions. He insisted I come to his farm near Pune.”
He further wrote, “His first question was how many people were coming. Not out of concern for the crew size, but because everyone would be served lunch..And what a feast! 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.”
He added, “No hierarchy. No fuss. Just extraordinary generosity from a man who could intimidate an entire film set with one raised eyebrow. He then proudly showed me around his property, including his gym, where he casually knocked off a dozen tricep dips. Stone cold. No warm-up. Show-off! And then, in a moment of spectacularly morbid humour, showed me a stack of firewood he’d prepared for his own funeral.”
He further revealed, “He’d kept it dry, he explained, because wet wood smokes, and he didn’t want people crying at his funeral merely because the smoke got into their eyes!
Only Nana Saheb could turn his own cremation into a comedy routine. A phenomenal actor. The voice of a generation. A formidable presence. And beneath that intimidating exterior, a deeply generous, solid human being. His loss feels personal. Like a punch in the guts. I’m honoured to have made those portraits but infinitely more grateful for the time, conversations and laughter we shared.”
He concluded, “My heartfelt condolences to Malhar, Neelu ji and all his loved ones. Rest easy, Nana Saheb. There will never be another quite like you.”
Earlier, Atul Kasbekar had also shared a video of Patekar working out in April 2026, which later resurfaced following his death. In the clip, Patekar could be seen in a white vest and shorts with a gamcha around his neck, effortlessly performing tricep dips in a gym. He completed several repetitions before smiling at the camera, with Kasbekar praising his fitness and describing him as a “legend.”
For the uninitiated, Atul Kasbekar’s recollection comes after Nana Patekar’s death on October 8, 2026, at the age of 75.
The actor died after suffering a cardiac arrest at his residence in Dona Paula, Goa.
He was taken to Manipal Hospital, where doctors attempted to revive him for around 45 minutes before he was declared dead at approximately 5:20 AM.
–IANS
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