- “Ek machchhar saala aadmi ko hijda bana deta hai” | Yeshwant (1997)
- “Aa gaye meri maut ka tamaasha dekhne?” | Krantiveer (1994)
- “Pandrah sau ki naukri karne waala…” | Tirangaa (1993)
- “Yeh Musalman ka khoon, yeh Hindu ka khoon” | Krantiveer (1994)
- “Hum sab system ka hissa hain” | Ab Tak Chhappan (2004)
- “Behtar hai tu apna iraada badal de” | Ghulam-E-Musthafa (1997)
- “Bhagwan ka diya hua sab kuch hai” | Welcome (2007)
Veteran actor Nana Patekar has died at the age of 75. Patekar passed away at 5:20 am on Thursday after suffering a severe cardiac arrest at his residence in Dona Paula, Goa. Despite 45 minutes of continuous CPR, he could not be revived, according to Dr Shekhar Salkar, Chief of the Oncology Department at Manipal Hospital. A medico-legal case (MLC) has been registered and a post-mortem will be conducted, Dr Salkar said.
As news of the actor’s death spread, memories of his powerful screen performances and unmistakable dialogue delivery came flooding back. From the raw intensity of ‘Krantiveer’ and ‘Yeshwant’ to the comic timing of ‘Welcome’, here are some of Nana Patekar’s most memorable dialogues.
“Ek machchhar saala aadmi ko hijda bana deta hai” | Yeshwant (1997)
From ‘Yeshwant’, this remains one of Patekar’s most striking lines. The dialogue is part of a longer passage in which his character talks about how something as small as a mosquito or bedbug can affect a person’s life.
“Ek machchhar, saala ek machchhar insaan ko aadmi se hijda bana deta hai. Ek khatmal puri raat ko apaahij kar deta hai. Subah ghar se niklo, bheed ka ek hissa bano. Shaam ko ghar jao, daru piyo aur bacchee paida karo, aur subah talak phir ek baar mar jao.”
The line is remembered largely because of the sheer intensity with which Patekar delivered it. The dialogue has continued to circulate widely in compilations of his most memorable performances.
“Aa gaye meri maut ka tamaasha dekhne?” | Krantiveer (1994)
If there is one Nana Patekar dialogue that instantly brings ‘Krantiveer’ to mind, it is this one.
“Aa gaye meri maut ka tamaasha dekhne?”
The line comes from one of the film’s most remembered sequences and became closely associated with Patekar’s performance.
“Pandrah sau ki naukri karne waala…” | Tirangaa (1993)
Another hard-hitting line came from ‘Tirangaa’, where Patekar played a police officer.
“Pandrah sau ki naukri karne waala, ek din tujhe dedh sau ka kafan pehnayega.”
The dialogue turned an ordinary reference to a modest salary into a threat delivered with the kind of bluntness that became a Patekar trademark.
“Yeh Musalman ka khoon, yeh Hindu ka khoon” | Krantiveer (1994)
Patekar’s performance in Krantiveer is remembered for its raw intensity, particularly in the scene where his character confronts communal hatred and questions the divisions created in the name of religion.
“Yeh Musalman ka khoon, yeh Hindu ka khoon…”
The scene remains one of the film’s most powerful moments, with Patekar using his forceful delivery to drive home the idea that blood cannot be divided along religious lines.
“Hum sab system ka hissa hain” | Ab Tak Chhappan (2004)
In ‘Ab Tak Chhappan’, Patekar played police officer Sadhu Agashe, a character operating within a system that often left little room for straightforward choices.
“Ek police inspector joint commissioner ke saath kya argument karega? Unko bhi koi bada sahab bola hoga, hum sab system ka hissa hain. System decide karta hai, apun follow karta hai.”
The shorter version most often associated with the film is: “Hum sab system ka hissa hain, system decide karta hai, apun follow karta hai.”
“Behtar hai tu apna iraada badal de” | Ghulam-E-Musthafa (1997)
Patekar could switch from restrained menace to an outright warning without changing the intensity of his delivery.
“Behtar hai tu apna iraada badal de, nahin toh main tera naksha badal doonga.”
The dialogue is from ‘Ghulam-E-Mustafa’ and is another example of the threatening, straight-to-the-point style that became closely associated with many of his roles.
“Bhagwan ka diya hua sab kuch hai” | Welcome (2007)
And then there was the Nana Patekar who could make audiences laugh just as easily.
“Bhagwan ka diya hua sab kuch hai. Daulat hai. Shohrat hai. Izzat hai. Bas ek nek aur shareef ladka chahiye tha.”
The line from ‘Welcome’ became one of the actor’s most recognisable comic moments. His portrayal of Uday Shetty allowed him to turn that same forceful delivery into comedy, creating a character and a collection of lines that remain popular years later.
These dialogues offer just a glimpse of what made Nana Patekar so distinctive. He could make a line sound angry, threatening, philosophical or completely comic, often simply through the force of his delivery.
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Veteran actor Nana Patekar dies at 75, suffered cardiac arrest at his residence in Goa


