Nana Patekar leaves behind an unfulfilled dream of settling in Uttarakhand’s mountains
Nana Patekar’s connection with Uttarakhand’s mountains lives on in the memories of people he met during a film shoot in Chamoli, where he said he wanted to build a house and spend his holidays in the mountains. Patekar, one of Indian cinema’s acclaimed actors, died aged 75 on Thursday after reportedly suffering a cardiac arrest in Goa.
His Uttarakhand connection dates back to September 2022, when he visited Chamoli the shoot a Marathi film. The unit shot in Lata, Malari and areas around the Niti Valley. During his stay in the areas of the district bordering Nepal and China, Patekar interacted with residents and experienced their food, traditional lifestyle, weather, and peaceful surroundings. According to locals, He was deeply impressed by the simplicity and beauty of the region and spoke about building a house there.
Patekar stayed with his crew at a homestay in Lata. Homestay owner Narendra Singh Rana recalled that the actor stayed there for seven days and had a separate kitchen where he cooked dishes including chicken and mutton. “He would call everyone together, sometimes scold them jokingly, and then serve them food,” Rana recalled. Rana said Patekar told him he would return and book the homestay for eight days with his friends.
He also said he wanted to buy a small piece of land in Lata and build a small house where he could spend his holidays every year. Rana also remembered Patekar as being warm towards visitors and guests at the homestay, talking to them and posing for photographs. During the shoot, Patekar also visited Narayan Koti and Devar areas in Rudraprayag, where he enjoyed local food, including mandua roti and rai-palak.
He also visited Dehradun and praised Uttarakhand’s natural beauty and the hospitality of its people. During the visit, he met the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and described the State as an ideal location for film shoots.
Nearly four years later, Patekar’s wish to make the mountains his home remained unfulfilled. For the people who met him, however, his brief stay in Uttarakhand remains a cherished memory of an actor who came to the mountains for work but left with a personal dream of returning.
