How did Nana Patekar die? What doctors said in Goa and why police opened an inquiry

Nana Patekar died at 75 on Thursday, October 8, 2026, after he was found unresponsive at his residence in Dona Paula, Goa. A doctor at Manipal Hospital said the actor suffered a cardiac arrest and was declared dead at 5:20 a.m. Goa Police subsequently registered an unnatural-death case to conduct an inquest. That procedural classification does not, by itself, indicate foul play; police said the post-mortem report would help establish the cause of death.

What happened to Nana Patekar in Goa?

Dr Shekhar Salkar of Manipal Hospital told reporters that, according to information available to the hospital, Patekar messaged a friend at about 2:30 a.m. to say he was feeling unwell. The friend reached his home around 4 a.m. and found him sweating and struggling to breathe, Salkar said.

An ambulance team went to the residence after the hospital was alerted. Medical staff began cardiopulmonary resuscitation there and continued it during the journey to the hospital. They were unable to revive Patekar, and he was declared dead at 5:20 a.m.

Salkar described the event as a cardiac arrest but said the hospital did not know what had caused it. Reports about Patekar’s prior heart health have varied, so they should not be treated as an established explanation for his death.

Why did Goa Police register an unnatural-death case?

Panaji police received a notification from Manipal Hospital later that morning that Patekar had been brought dead from Dona Paula. Police registered an unnatural-death case under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and began inquest proceedings.

A senior police officer told The Indian Express that cardiac arrest appeared to be the likely immediate event, but that the cause would be known after the post-mortem report. The officer said the inquest was protocol because Patekar had been brought dead to the hospital. An unnatural-death entry is a step in examining an unexpected death, not a finding that a crime occurred.

A post-mortem examination was conducted at Goa Medical College on Thursday, according to local reporting. The available reports did not provide its findings. Patekar’s remains were then taken to Maharashtra, where his last rites were held in the Pune district village of Donje with state honours.

How old was Nana Patekar, and which films made him famous?

Patekar was 75. Born in 1951, he worked for nearly five decades across Hindi and Marathi cinema. His performances in Parinda and Krantiveer brought major acclaim; audiences also knew him from films including Ab Tak Chhappan, the comedy Welcome and the Marathi drama Natsamrat. He won three National Film Awards.

How have colleagues and fans responded?

Actors including Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Manoj Bajpayee and Rajinikanth paid tribute after news of Patekar’s death. Anil Kapoor, who appeared with him in Welcome, shared a personal remembrance of his friend. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also praised Patekar’s distinctive presence on screen.

Fans posted memories of his performances and shared tributes online. Their response has centred on the range of his work, from forceful dramatic roles to the comic character that introduced him to another generation of moviegoers. The tributes do not change the medical distinction in this case: doctors reported a cardiac arrest, while the police inquiry addresses the circumstances and awaits the formal findings on its cause.