Nana Patekar’s Tacit Prophecy About Heart Condition

Famous Marathi play ‘Natsamrat’ (Greatest Performer) has earned a niche position in the history of Marathi stage. Written by Dnyanpeeth awardee litterateur Kusumagraj over five decades ago, the play is revered for its plot, dialogues and message. The central character of a stage artiste counting his final days is a challenge for any actor who performs the role. Nana Patekar was one of them. The play was so popular that a Marathi movie based on it earned over Rs 150 crore. Some of the soliloquies of the main character are so long and need so much strength to deliver that they were most tiring for an actor, Nana had disclosed in one speech. He recalled how towering thespians like Dr Shreeram Lagoo, Datta Bhat, Chandrakant Gokhale and Yashwant Dutt who had depicted the unfortunate personality had died of heart attacks. It is ironical that Nana, appearing perfectly fit physically, should fall prey to a suspected heart condition. Several such unknown facets of Nana’s life are coming out through the respects paid to his memory by his co-workers and admirers. It makes one shudder to know that Nana was related to dreaded gangster Manya Surve, whose police encounter had become a sensation in the early 1980’s. Nana’s mother, fearing that he might be influenced by Manya, had sent her son to their Konkan village to avert the possibility. Fortunately, Nana did not choose a wrong path after returning to Mumbai some years later and started acting in experimental stage.