CM Fadnavis pays state honours to Nana Patekar in Pune
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
A city paused to grieve on Thursday, 8 October 2026, as Pune received the mortal remains of one of Indian cinema's most formidable voices. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was present to offer the state's final tribute to veteran actor Nana Patekar, a man he described not merely as a celebrated artist but as a personal friend, guide and well-wisher.
State honours at Pune for a 'harhunnari kalavant'
The Maharashtra government accorded a formal state tribute — manavanandana — to Nana Patekar as his mortal remains were received in Pune. Chief Minister Fadnavis offered a floral wreath, took a final glimpse of the departed, and consoled the bereaved family in person. In his post, he wrote that his heart was overwhelmed: 'Ek harhuunnari kalavantala akherachi manavanandana detana, shraddhanjali arpaana karatana man bharun ale hote' — 'As I rendered the final salute to a versatile artist, my heart was full.'
The Marathi word harhunnari — meaning one gifted in many arts — captures precisely what Nana Patekar meant to Maharashtra and to Indian cinema at large: an actor who moved effortlessly between raw, intense drama and wry, understated humour, and who was equally known off-screen for his humanitarian work with drought-hit farmers through the Naam Foundation.
A bond beyond protocol
Fadnavis's tribute carried an unmistakably personal register. He called Patekar 'majhe snehi, mitra, margadarshak' — my well-wisher, friend, and guide — language that went well beyond a chief minister's obligatory condolence. The decision to offer a state salute underscores how deeply Patekar was woven into Maharashtra's public and cultural life, from the film studios of Mumbai to the parched villages of Vidarbha where the Naam Foundation distributed relief to farmers in crisis.
The tribute concluded with the traditional invocation Om Shanti — a quiet, dignified close to a farewell that Maharashtra's government wanted to mark with full honour.