Nana Patekar was one of India's most celebrated actors.
He passed away at 75.
In 2018, a MeToo allegation reoriented his legacy forever.
Nana Patekar was undoubtedly one of India's most gifted, blazing actors and his sudden demise on October 8 left the film industry in shock. With over a career spanning five decades, Nana Patekar not only bagged three National Film Awards but also scripted a new paradigm, that of the anti-hero in Hindi cinema. The intensity he brought to his performances, from Parinda to Ab Tak Chhappan to Krantiveer, simmered with the most sudden shifts. He knew how to hold silence until it made you distinctly uncomfortable. But his public image has been marred by frequent complaints of temper tantrums, verbal and physical violence and a slew of sexual harassment accusations. He has had run-ins with several political leaders. The backlash and vitriol never stymied his refusal to mince his words. But the real dent in his legacy came with the flurry of #MeToo allegations. In 2008, actor Tanushree Dutta accused Patekar of sexual harassment during a movie shoot. The case was later dismissed for lack of evidence, but the allegations snowballed into a major reckoning for India's #MeToo movement in 2018.
Tanushree Dutta And The MeToo Storm
In 2008, actress Tanushree Dutta alleged that veteran actor Nana Patekar sexually harassed her during a song shoot for the film Horn Ok Please. She stated that Nana Patekar insisted on adding unscripted intimate dance steps, physically mishandled her on set, and orchestrated intimidation by mob members when she resisted. Though Dutta walked off the project at the time, the incident gained widespread public traction a decade later, in late 2018, when she reiterated her claims in media interviews—effectively igniting India’s #MeToo movement across the film industry.
Nana Patekar consistently denied all allegations. He dismissed them as baseless and issued a formal legal response. Following a police investigation, the Mumbai Police submitted a 'B-Summary' closure report in June 2019, stating there was insufficient evidence to substantiate the charges or prosecute the actor. Dutta didn't retreat. She challenged this report, alleging that key witness statements were excluded. However, in early 2025, an Andheri Magistrate Court in Mumbai formally disposed of the matter and refused to proceed with criminal charges due to the bar of limitation periods. Despite the lack of legal conviction, the case remains a watershed moment in how the Hindi film industry addresses workplace safety and accountability.
Tiff With Bal Thackeray And Shiv Sena
When acclaimed Marathi writer P.L. Deshpande made critical remarks about politicians at the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in Dadar, Bal Thackeray attacked literary figures in his trademark aggressive style. Nana Patekar publicly stood up for Deshpande and lashed out at Bal Thackeray. Soon after, daily newspaper, Saamana, carried an editorial slamming Nana Patekar. This was during the 1995–1999 period. In latter years, Nana Patekar openly challenged Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis over corruption. Patekar remained a vocal public figure till his death.
Public Backlash for Slapping a Fan
In November 2023, a video went viral showing Nana Patekar slapping a young fan on the head on the sets of the movie Journey in Varanasi after the fan approached him for a selfie. A wave of public outrage ensued. Ultimately, Nana Patekar released a video statement clarifying that he was in the middle of rehearsing a shot that required slapping a co-actor and mistakenly thought the fan was a crew member stepping in.
On-Set Clashes With Vidhu Vinod Chopra During Parinda
Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Parinda (1989) is among the enduring classics of Hindi cinema. Nana Patekar won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Parinda. As the volatile, unpredictable gangster Anna, the actor was unforgettable. However, Patekar and Chopra never collaborated again.
Nana Patekar relayed his version of the story in a 2024 interview with The Lallantop. He insisted he did not like Vidhu Vinod Chopra. He accepted that even back then, he could not control his anger. This always led to clashes between the two. “I don’t like Vidhu Vinod Chopra. I have no control over my anger. I am still the same. That aspect of my life hasn’t changed yet. Every scene has its setting, tune, and note, there is a way to talk. Now, I don’t know if you watched Parinda, I was in the character, so when the director says, ‘Lights, camera, clap’, if you aggressively say ‘action’, it starts to linger in your ears. It echoes and hurts your ears.”
Chopra too has been open about his experiences directing Patekar, the spate of arguments and constant friction it involved. The National Award-winning filmmaker shared his side of the story during an appearance on the singing reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in 2023, highlighting the actor's verbally abusive inclinations.
“I’d seen Nana in a play called Purush, and it’s very important to say this, but those days, I never used to curse. I was a very well-behaved young man from Kashmir. But it all changed because of Nana. When I’d direct him in a scene, he’d hurl abuses at me. I wondered how I would direct him at all. So, that’s when I started abusing him back. I started swearing only because I had to direct Nana."
He added, “There’s a scene in the film where Nana asks if he has tears in his eyes after his wife has died… We’d been shooting all day, and it was late in the evening. Nana declared that he was too tired to continue and that he was going home. I told him, ‘Sure, you pay for the overheads then’. He started swearing at me, I swore back, and in the scuffle, I tore his kurta. The cops on set said, ‘We’re here to protect you, and you’re fighting among yourselves’.”
Fallout With Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Nana Patekar has often talked about his volatile temper, his tendency to fly into fits of rage. Speaking with Siddharth Kannan in 2024, Patekar recalled his infamous fight with filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the sets of Khamoshi. The 1996 film was Bhansali's debut.
“There are possibilities of me returning to work with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, but I guess the way I yelled at him, he must have felt bad. We didn’t work after that. Not that the fight made any difference in our respective lives. "
He admitted that his problem is his rudeness. He said, "I use extremely harsh words. It must have upset him. However, I never tried to clarify anything with him. What is the use of having known each other for so long, if we have to explain these little things to each other? I don’t even see it as my fault."
