Nana Patekar dies at 75 after heart attack at Goa hospital

Actor Nana Patekar has died at the age of 75. He was undergoing treatment at Manipal Hospital in Goa in the morning when he suffered a severe heart attack and breathed his last. With his distinctive style and booming voice, he left a deep mark on the history of Indian cinema, playing every kind of role with force, from villain to hero and from comedy to tragedy. His passing has left a gap in the film industry that can never be filled.

Patekar, who made audiences laugh and brought tears to their eyes, is no longer with them, but the dialogues he made immortal on screen and his particular style will live on in the hearts of his admirers.

He began his acting career with the 1978 film Gaman. His dialogue delivery was extremely natural and true to life, and audiences felt he was not acting on screen but speaking in real life. Here are memorable lines from some of his most popular films, which drew whistles and applause in theatres.

First, Natsamrat. The lines of this film, written in gold letters in the history of Marathi theatre and cinema, still raise goosebumps. "Will anyone give a home? Will anyone give a home to a storm?" Elsewhere: "To be or not to be... to live or to die, that is the question. To live on as a scrap of a soiled leaf plate on the garbage heap of this world, shameless, helpless, happy?" And: "He amassed wealth worth thousands and scattered it like gulal and bukka powder, and this same Natsamrat is branded a thief in his own children's house!"

A dialogue from Krantiveer (1994) became the most famous of Patekar's career and made him a star of Hindi cinema. "Have you come to watch the spectacle of my death?" Two more lines from the film: "Tell me, is this Muslim blood or Hindu blood, tell me!" and "Fools, you cannot make even a needle in your own country... and you dream of breaking ours!"

A dialogue from Yashwant (1997) gave voice to the anger of the common man and was widely quoted in everyday conversation: "Eighty out of a hundred are dishonest, yet my country is great!"

His role as 'Anna' in Parinda (1989) won Patekar his first National Award. From the film: "The cure for sorrow is forgetting, and to forget, a man has to live." And: "In business, no one is anyone's brother, no one is anyone's son..."

Tiranga (1993) featured the pairing of Raaj Kumar and Nana Patekar. This line remains hugely popular: "I have a principle... first a kick, then talk, after that a meeting."

In Ab Tak Chhappan, Patekar played a tough police officer in khaki to the life. His dialogue: "We are all part of the system, the system decides, Apun follows..."

Prahaar was a film about patriotism and the lives of soldiers, in which Patekar's message had a strong effect: "For a soldier, his country is his family..."

In Welcome (2007), he played the comic role of 'Uday Shetty' and won over a new generation with his acting. "God has given me everything... wealth, fame, respect." And: "Why does this damn sorrow never end, man..."

In Raajneeti (2010), his dialogues commenting on the moves played on the political chessboard drew much attention. "You had better change your mind, or else I will change your map." "In politics, only victory earns respect." And: "Decisions are neither right nor wrong; they are taken according to time and circumstance."

The biggest strength of Patekar's acting was his unique dialogue delivery. He spoke lines in films with such ease that audiences found them not theatrical but entirely real. This style places him at the top of the list of great and steadfast actors of the Hindi and Marathi film industries.