Mahesh Manjrekar says Nana Patekar suffered over the Tanushree Dutta controversy.
Manjrekar claims people on the 2008 film set denied the allegations.
Mumbai Police filed a closure report in the case in 2019.
Actor and filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar has revisited the controversy involving his late friend Nana Patekar and actor Tanushree Dutta, saying Patekar “suffered a lot for no reason”. In an interview with News18 Marathi, Manjrekar claimed that people he knew who were present on the sets of Horn Ok Pleassss had told him that nothing had happened. He also questioned why the matter had been brought back into public discussion.
Dutta accused Patekar of sexual harassment during the film’s shoot in 2008. The allegations resurfaced in 2018 and became a prominent part of India’s #MeToo movement. Patekar denied the allegations until his death on October 8, 2026, aged 75.
What Mahesh Manjrekar said about Nana Patekar
Speaking about the controversy, Manjrekar said he was familiar with several people who had been present during the shoot. He maintained that he knew who was on the set and had heard their accounts of the incident.
“Some people are like that. Even if everyone supports them and one person doesn't, they will not like it. It is okay. But then they bring up an old matter. I know what happened that day. Everyone on the set was known to me, and I also know who was present there. It was highlighted for no reason,” he said. Manjrekar further claimed that the people he knew had denied that anything had happened during the shoot. He said the controversy had taken a significant toll on Patekar.
“Everyone I knew on the sets had told me that nothing had happened. Nothing at all had happened. Nana suffered a lot for no reason. One should ignore such things. But because of social media, everybody has their own opinion, and there is no cure for this,” he added.
Tanushree Dutta's allegations against Nana Patekar
The controversy dates back to March 2008, when Dutta alleged that Patekar had behaved inappropriately towards her while they were filming a song sequence for Horn Ok Pleassss. She also claimed that a mob attacked her car when she tried to leave the shooting location.
The allegations returned to the spotlight in September 2018 after Dutta spoke about the incident in an interview. Her account became one of the prominent stories associated with the #MeToo movement in India's entertainment industry.
In October 2018, Dutta filed a first information report against Patekar, choreographer Ganesh Acharya, producer Samee Siddiqui and director Rakesh Sarang. Patekar denied the allegations. Mumbai Police filed a B-summary closure report in June 2019, citing insufficient evidence to support the complaint.
Nana Patekar died in October 2026
Dutta spoke about the controversy again following Patekar's death, sharing videos on social media that brought the allegations back into public discussion. Patekar died in Goa on October 8, 2026, aged 75. His post-mortem report attributed his death to a heart attack caused by a blood clot in a major coronary artery.
Manjrekar has also spoken about regretting that he could not meet his friend one last time before his death. He was in London when Patekar died
