Nana Patekar, despite Rs 80 crore net worth, once refused to buy Rs 1.5 crore car. Writer reveals why: ‘He gave Rs 15,000 cheques to grieving families of…’

An era has come to an end. Veteran actor Nana Patekar passed away in Goa after a cardiac arrest. He was 75. According to hospital sources, medical teams made efforts to resuscitate the actor for nearly 45 minutes after he was brought to the hospital. However, despite their attempts, he could not be revived. He was pronounced dead at 5:20 am. Though he made a name for himself both as an antagonist and a leading man of parallel cinema and a character actor, did you know he led a rather simple life despite his rumoured networth of Rs 80 crore (as per a Moneycontrol report)?

In a chat with Sidharth Kannan, National Award-winning screenwriter Ranbir Pushp, who worked with Patekar on Partho Ghosh’s 1996 psychological thriller ‘Agni Sakshi', revealed the actor was very generous and sensitive to the plights of the marginalised once upon a time.

Once he read about the difficulties of farmers and what drove them to suicide. He decided against buying a luxury car worth Rs 1.5 crore and asked a friend to distribute the amount to farmers, giving each family Rs 15,000 cheques.


“He was watching the news one day and saw families grieving after so many farmers committed suicide. The next day he was supposed to buy an Rs 1.5 crore car, but instead he called his artiste friend and told him to make Rs 15,000 cheques and distribute them among the families of the farmers. The one who wipes the farmers' tears can't cause harm to anyone. He formed the NAAM Foundation, which has collected countless funds till today. He lives on a farm himself,” he said.

In an appearance in Amitabh Bachchan’s Kaun Banega Crorepati, Nana revealed why he chose to live in a village and ditched the hustle and bustle of Mumbai life despite being a busy actor. He explained that he had always been a village man at heart, and he didn’t like partying much.

“I don't really belong to the film industry. I come here, do my work, and then run back. I've never been someone who attends parties here. That lifestyle doesn't appeal to me. It's just not who I am. I come from a village, and I will always remain a village man. That's where I feel most at home..." he told Bachchan Sr.

Patekar leaves behind an enviable oeuvre of work consisting of films such as Parinda (1989), Krantiveer (1994) –Natsamrat, Rajniti etc.