Rohit Shetty mourned veteran actor Nana Patekar following his death at the age of 75. The filmmaker shared a heartfelt tribute to the actor, remembering their late-night phone calls, his honesty and the special bond they shared.
In an emotional note, Rohit recalled how Nana would call him without any formalities and address him simply as "Shetty".
"Dear Dada, I will miss your late-night calls. No hello and no formalities but a straight, "Aye Shetty, kya kar raha hai?" And I would purposely reply "Kaun bol raha hai?", to irritate you only to get a "Saale, Nana bol raha hoon!""
Rohit also remembered Nana as one of his biggest and most honest critics after the release of his films. He said the actor never hesitated to tell him what he genuinely thought about his work.
He wrote, "After my release, you were one of my biggest and most honest critics. You never sugar-coated anything. "Yeh waali tune achhi banayi..." "Yeh waali mujhe achhi nahi lagi..." "Yeh waali superhit hai..." "Yeh tune hit banane ki koshish ki hai..." And then, in your own way, you would remind me, "Abay, tu khud star hai... tujhe itne stars ki zaroorat nahi hai.""
Rohit further recalled Nana's cameo in his 2017 film Golmaal Again.
"I will never forget when you did a cameo in Golmaal Again. I asked you, "Dada, aapki fees?". And you looked at me and said, "Ch****ya, tujhse paise lunga? Ek anathashram ka number deta hoon, wahan donate kar de." That was you Dada. Straight. Unfiltered. Generous. And always genuine. I will miss being called Shetty by you. WILL MISS YOU DADA."
Nana Patekar died after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home in Goa. He will be cremated with full state honours at Donje near Pune on Thursday. The actor's last rites will be performed at his farmhouse.
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