Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Former Union minister and television actor Smriti Irani paid an emotional tribute to veteran actor Nana Patekar, sharing a video of him cooking for her and recalling their final conversation, which she said “still echoes” in her ears.
Patekar died at 75 at his home in Goa on October 8. Remembering him as “Dada”, Irani shared memories of their bond and the last time they spoke, when Patekar asked her when she would visit him in Pune.
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Irani wrote about the warmth and informality of their relationship. “His calls were as random as they were precious. No formalities, no pleasantries. Just that familiar voice – ‘Kahan hai re?’” she wrote.
She also remembered how they rarely photographed their time together. “Perhaps because one could never imagine there would come a day when photographs would be all I am left with,” Irani wrote.
Irani recalled calling Patekar unexpectedly and sometimes putting him on the phone with young people who admired his work. According to her, he would always oblige, showing the warmth she said existed beneath his “unmistakably gruff exterior”.
Among the memories she holds closest is one of Patekar cooking for her. “No special occasion. Just Dada, being Dada,” she wrote.
But it was their final conversation that appeared to weigh most heavily on her.
“Our last conversation still echoes in my ears,” Irani wrote, before recalling Patekar asking her in Marathi, “Aa re Pune, kadhi yeshil?”, asking when she would visit Pune.
The post also accompanied a video that showed Patekar cooking fish for Irani.
“I said, ‘Soon.’ Guess was not soon enough,” she wrote. Concluding her tribute, Irani wrote: “See you on the other side, Dada.”
See the post here:
Nana Patekar leaves behind a career spanning some of Hindi cinema’s most memorable performances. His filmography includes critically acclaimed films such as Parinda, Krantiveer, Agni Sakshi, Ab Tak Chhappan and Natsamrat, alongside popular comedies such as Welcome and Welcome Back.
His performances across genres made him one of Indian cinema’s most distinctive actors.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
