Mumbai: Shah Rukh Khan has paid an emotional tribute to veteran actor Nana Patekar, who passed away at the age of 75 on Thursday after suffering a cardiac arrest at his Goa residence. Doctors attempted to revive him for nearly 45 minutes, but he could not be saved.
Taking to Instagram, Shah Rukh Khan shared a black-and-white picture with Nana and remembered their special bond, recalling how the veteran actor never hesitated to tell him the truth.
“When I first met him, out of awe and awkwardness I fiddled with my hair. He slapped my hand away and said ‘hero ki tarah Baal mat bana…tu actor hai’!” King Khan wrote.
Calling Nana a mentor, teacher, critic and friend, SRK recalled his straightforward nature and unique way of showing affection. He also remembered their many games of carrom, saying he wished they had more time for conversations, arguments, tea and another game.
Remembering Nana’s advice, SRK wrote, “hero banne ke chakar mein actor mat khona”, adding that he would carry the actor’s words in his heart forever.
“Too soon my Hero Actor! RIP,” Shah Rukh Khan concluded, praying for Nana’s soul and saying that the actor’s intensity, laughter, madness and love would always remain with them.
The two actors had previously shared the screen in Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992), where Shah Rukh played an ambitious young engineer and Nana portrayed Jai, a street performer who helps guide him through life in Mumbai. They reunited a decade later in Shakti: The Power (2002), in which Nana played the ruthless Narasimha while Shah Rukh made an extended cameo.
