In the world of cinema, there are some actors who don't just play characters... they live the characters. Nana Patekar was one of them.

On the morning of October 8, when the news of Nana Patekar's death came, there was a silence among crores of viewers along with Hindi and Marathi cinema, which is difficult to describe in words. He died after a cardiac arrest in Goa at the age of 75. Doctors tried their best to save him, but despite about 45 minutes of CPR, he could not be saved.

He wasn't just an actor. He created a different world on screen with his voice, eyes, facial expressions and dialogues. Characters like 'Parinda', 'Krantiveer', 'Ab Tak Chappan', 'Natsamrat' made him stand in the line of those actors of Indian cinema who did not need any stardom. Acting was his identity. He is the recipient of several awards, including three National Film Awards and the Padma Shri.

But Nana's real beauty was perhaps even beyond his acting - in his innocence.

Shah Rukh Khan shared an anecdote from their first meeting. According to Shah Rukh, when he started playing with his hair due to hesitation in the first meeting, Nana shook his hand and said -

"Don't be a hero... You're an actor. "

One small thing... But the whole personality of Nana was hidden in it.

He wasn't a flamboyant person. What he had to say was straightforward. They said what they needed to hear. Perhaps that was why there was a sense of belonging in their scolding and a deep affection behind their strictness. Shah Rukh recalled that Nana's way of expressing love was also completely different. Somewhere between the first scolding, then the abuses and the same words, there was an affinity that went down to the heart.

Many of Nana Patekar's dialogues are still on people's lips.
From dialogues like "A mosquito makes a man a hijra..." to his silence - there was such power in his voice that the screen came alive as soon as he heard it.

But perhaps the biggest dialogue of Nana's life was not in his films, but in his way of life.

He stayed away from the show. He made a mark with his acting, earned respect with his outspokenness and proved with his work that it takes a soul, not just a face, to be an actor.

Nana is not among us today.
But they have their roles.
It's their voice.
That's the intensity of his eyes.
He has a wry smile.
And those are the dialogues, which the coming generations will also repeat.

For Shah Rukh, Nana was much more than an artist - a teacher, a critic, a friend and a man who had the courage to match the truth with the truth.

Maybe that's why this is the most beautiful way to remember Nana -

Nana saab, you haven't played a character on screen. They made him immortal.
Today the curtain has fallen, but your acting is not over.
Your voice still resonates... and will always resonate.

Heartfelt tribute. शांति ।