The outsider who grilled politicians
Nana Patekar never entered electoral politics, but politics remained a presence in his public life. He was close to leaders from across parties, was approached more than once to contest elections, and yet remained fiercely unwilling to join a party. The popular actor died on Thursday. He was 75.
Patekar’s most pointed political intervention was in October 2022, months after the Shiv Sena split and the formation of the Eknath Shinde-led BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra.
At the event, Patekar interviewed Shinde and Fadnavis and questioned them about the political turmoil in Maharashtra. He asked Shinde why it had taken him two and a half years to rebel against the Uddhav Thackeray-led government. He also asked the two leaders whether voters had any value once elections were over.
नाना पाटेकर जी को भावभीनी श्रद्धांजलि!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 8, 2026
He asked why politicians were not held accountable for their mistakes the way ordinary citizens were. He also questioned the wealth of some elected representatives, contrasting it with the modest bank balance of former Maharashtra chief minister Y B Chavan at the time of his death. “Y B Chavan had only Rs 25,000 in his bank account when he died. Today, even a corporator earns crores within a year or so after getting elected. Why is there no action against corrupt politicians?” he asked.
Actor Nana Patekar, CM Fadnavis, DCM Ajit Pawar and Minister Chandrakant Bavankule during the launch of a fortnight-long “Sewa Pakhwada” to mark Prime Minister Modi’s 75th birthday at Ganesh Kala Krida on Wednesday. (Express Archive)
But his sharpest question was about the consequences of political splits outside the legislature. “You politicians will join hands again, but what about families that get divided because of you,” he asked, referring to the divisions caused by the Shiv Sena split. He also questioned the falling standards of political discourse and use of abusive language by politicians.
Decades-long ties with politics
Patekar’s relationship with Maharashtra’s political class went back decades. He described Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray as a father figure and, in 2013, appealed to Uddhav and Raj Thackeray to set aside their differences and work together. He also had a close relationship with NCP founder Sharad Pawar.
Actor Nana Patekar and Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highway after inaugural ceremony of Child Care Centre for cancer patients in Mumbai on Thursday. (Express Archive)
His relationship with Bal Thackeray was not without disagreements. Patekar had publicly criticised the Shiv Sena founder on occasions, while still describing him as a father figure. His equation with political leaders was therefore not necessarily one of political allegiance.
In 2014, the BJP approached Patekar to contest the Lok Sabha election from Mumbai North Central against Congress leader Priya Dutt. He declined. The BJP was then looking for a prominent film personality to take on Dutt, who had represented the constituency since 2004. Patekar was among the Bollywood names it approached.
Ten years later, Patekar said political parties approached him to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election. He said he received calls to contest and that Sharad Pawar had also called him after hearing that his name was being discussed. It was speculated that Patekar could contest from Shirur, but he did not enter the electoral race.
प्रसिद्ध अभिनेता नाना पाटेकर जी के निधन का समाचार अत्यंत दुखद है।
अपने अभिनय और किरदारों से उन्होंने भारतीय सिनेमा पर और दर्शकों के दिलों में एक अमिट छाप छोड़ी है।
इस पीड़ा के समय में मेरी गहरी संवेदनाएं उनके शोकाकुल परिजनों, मित्रों और समर्थकों के साथ हैं।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 8, 2026
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“I can’t join politics, because I am an outspoken person,” he said in March 2024 while addressing farmers in Nashik. He said he would tell politicians to their face if he believed they were doing something wrong.
Friendships that crossed party lines
His political friendships often crossed party lines. In 2020, Patekar called Pawar his “hero” and “Chanakya of Indian politics”, while also describing Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray and Devendra Fadnavis as friends. He thanked Amit Shah for helping the Naam Foundation, which he co-founded with actor Makarand Anaspure to work with farmers in drought-hit areas.
Veteran actor Nana Patekar was present at the book launch event at Balgandharva Rangmandir, book titled “Nidhal: The Dalvi Pattern of Rural Development” in Pune. Express Archive
The same cross-party equation was visible in his public life outside politics. Leaders from different parties attended his social and personal events, while Patekar maintained that friendship with a politician did not mean support for that politician’s party.
In December 2023, he praised the Narendra Modi government and said there was “no alternative”. A few months later, while speaking to farmers in Nashik, he criticised political parties and urged voters to decide which government they wanted.
His comments did not always fit neatly into one political camp. He could praise the Modi government while also publicly criticising politicians over farmers, corruption or the way political parties functioned.
For Patekar, politics was often inseparable from issues affecting ordinary people. In 2015, while helping families of farmers who had died by suicide, he urged Pawar, Narayan Rane and Fadnavis to work together on the drought. He argued that the drought could not be tackled by one political party alone. His public interventions later extended to caste politics, with Patekar telling students in 2025 that young people should not allow themselves to be divided and should use their vote to bring change.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweets this picture to express his grief over the death of veteran actor Nana Patekar, in New Delhi on Thursday. (@AmitShah X/ANI Photo)
He had also spoken about the effect of politics on Mumbai’s social fabric. In a 2023 interview, Patekar said politics had divided the city and that people were being drawn into arguments over religion and caste while politicians benefited from the divisions.
Patekar’s place in Maharashtra’s political life was therefore unusual. He was close to politicians but did not seek office; parties sought him as a candidate, but he declined; and despite his friendships, he was willing to question leaders in public.
He could sit across the table from Shinde and Fadnavis and question them about the Sena split, praise Pawar as a political strategist, maintain a personal equation with the Thackerays and still refuse offers to contest an election.
He remained, by choice, an outsider to politics — and that distance from party politics allowed him to maintain friendships across political divides while speaking to politicians as bluntly as he spoke about politics.
