Veteran actor Nana Patekar‘s son Malhar Patekar said his father’s work has made him immortal and that his vision, particularly his social initiatives through the Naam Foundation, would be carried forward even after his demise.Speaking to reporters about his father’s legacy, Malhar Patekar said, “A person like Nana Saheb never truly leaves us; his achievements have made him immortal. Secondly, he always believed that everyone should come together and follow a righteous path on a global scale. Thirdly, regarding the future-carrying forward the vision Nana Saheb left behind is how we will shape the life ahead.”Elaborating on his father’s vision and the work of the organisation, Malhar said, “Through our organisation, work was already underway in the water sector, and large-scale initiatives in education and health had begun in Kashmir as well. Thirdly, he assigned specific responsibilities to everyone before he left.”Regarding the Marathwada work, he said, “I spoke to the Chief Minister just a short while ago, and he noted that the work being done through the Naam Foundation is proceeding under the guidance of our CEO, Ganesh Thorat. The Chief Minister acknowledged that we have collaborated in the past, but he emphasised that Nana Saheb had intended to push even harder this time around. So, the Chief Minister stated that we must ensure that what he had envisioned actually comes to pass.“On the decision to conduct the last rites late Thursday night, Malhar said, “We proceeded (with the last rites today) because the tragedy occurred early this morning, so a significant amount of time had already passed. That is why we decided to go ahead with it today.”Nana Patekar died after suffering a severe cardiac arrest. He was taken to Manipal Hospital, where doctors tried to revive him for around 45 minutes. Dr Shekhar Salkar, Chief of the Oncology Department at Manipal Hospital, confirmed the news to ANI. He was laid to rest with full state honours in Pune, marking a solemn farewell to one of India’s most celebrated actors.
