Veteran actor Nana Patekar passed away at the age of 75 in Goa on Thursday, October 8, leaving Bollywood mourning the loss of one of its most distinctive performers.
According to Indian media reports, he was cremated with full state honours late on Thursday night at his farmhouse in Donje village, near Pune, with his son Malhar performing the last rites.
Malhar, who spoke to reporters after the funeral, explained why the family went ahead with the cremation at around 11:30pm instead of waiting until the following morning.
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Bringing his father’s mortal remains from Goa to the farmhouse had taken longer than expected, he said. With the death having occurred early that morning, the family felt that considerable time had already passed and decided to complete the rites that night.
‘We expected it to arrive earlier’
As quoted by Hindustan Times, Malhar said: “We were in Goa, and his mortal remains were to be brought to the farmhouse in the village. We expected it to arrive earlier, but it took us some time. We proceeded (with the last rites today) because the tragedy occurred early this morning, so a significant amount of time had already passed. That is why we decided to go ahead with it today.”
His explanation addressed questions about the timing of the funeral, particularly why the family had not postponed it until Friday to allow more people from the film industry to pay their respects.
India Today also quoted Malhar’s explanation in Hindi: “Aisa nahi hai ki itni raat ko kyun kiya, kal kyun nahi kiya. Hame laga kyunki aaj subha subha ye hadsa hua toh already samay kaafi beet chuka tha isliye humne socha ki aaj hi karengey.” (“It’s not about why it was being done so late at night or why it couldn’t wait until tomorrow. Since the incident had happened early this morning and a considerable amount of time had already passed, we felt it was best to do it today itself.”)
A late-night farewell near Pune
Indian media reported that Patekar’s mortal remains were brought from Goa to his farmhouse in Donje village, near Khadakwasla, where family members, friends and mourners gathered for the farewell.
According to reports, Malhar performed the last rites at around 11:30pm, with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis among those present. Jackie Shroff, Pravin Tarde, Sajid Nadiadwala and Anil Sharma were, reportedly, among the film personalities who attended.
Source: Khaleej Times