Drink in hand, Rs 1.5-crore car in mind, but a TV news changed Nana Patekar's plans

It was an evening in 2015, and actor Nana Patekar sat down with a drink in his hand, the television playing in front of him. He had set aside Rs 1.5 crore to buy a new luxury car after years of success in cinema. It was supposed to be an ordinary evening. Then a news report about a farmer's suicide in drought-hit Maharashtra changed everything.The TV visuals showed the family of a farmer who had died by suicide. There was the farmer's widow too. There were children who had lost their father. There were parents who had lost their son. But what disturbed Patekar most was not just the grief. It was the hunger he could see on their faces."Why are we buying cars?" he asked himself.Nana died at the age of 75 on Thursday, after suffering severe chest pain at his flat in Goa. He was found unresponsive and taken to a hospital, where doctors attempted to revive him for around 45 minutes before declaring him dead at 5.20 am. His son, Malhar Patekar, confirmed the death. As people across the world remember one of cinema's most distinctive performers, we revisit his legacy built away from the camera. It's that of his long association with farmers, rural communities and social service. In a 2024 interview with The Lallantop, India Today Digital's sister portal, Nana recalled how the television report changed his priorities. The Rs 1.5 crore he had saved for a luxury car suddenly acquired a different purpose. "We wanted to buy a new car. We had saved Rs 1.5 crore for it. One evening, I was sitting there, sipping my drink and watching television. A farmer had died by suicide, and they were interviewing his family," he recalled.He called his friend and fellow actor Makarand Anaspure, who came from Marathwada, and suggested sending Rs 15,000 to each family of farmers who had died by suicide. At first, the two believed they could make a meaningful difference by distributing the money. But Anaspure asked Nana to do something else. He insisted that Nana should go to Beed and meet the women himself. Nana went and offered help. Around 200 to 250 women were sitting together, Nana recalled. Some had children in their laps, others held their children's fingers. They were widows who had lost their husbands to farmer suicides.That sight changed the equation. Nana had gone thinking about how much money he could distribute. He returned thinking about how little a one-time payment could do."If one of these children were ours, what would we do?" he recalled. The question that stayed with him, he said. That was the point when an act of personal charity began turning into a larger mission for Nana.HOW NANA PATEKAR TURNED Rs 1.5 CRORE INTO A CAUSEIn 2015, Nana and Anaspure formally established the NAAM Foundation in response to the drought and agrarian distress affecting Maharashtra, particularly Vidarbha and Marathwada. The foundation's early work focused on families of farmers who had died by suicide, but its approach soon expanded beyond immediate financial assistance.The veteran actor was helping families after a farmer's death, but at the same time, also preventing another family from reaching that point required addressing the larger crisis. Nana's foundation understood that suicide of farmers was happening because water was at the heart of the problem.The NAAM Foundation began working on water conservation, including the rejuvenation of rivers, streams, nalas, percolation tanks and farm ponds, along with efforts to improve groundwater availability and agricultural productivity. The foundation's stated focus expanded to include rural development, education and livelihoods.For Nana, the transformation was personal as much as institutional.In his 2024 interview with The Lallantop, he recalled that once NAAM was announced and registered, people began contributing to the cause. What struck him was that many of the donors were not wealthy industrialists but ordinary people — middle-class and lower-middle-class families who trusted the organisation with their money.The actor, who had once been thinking about buying a luxury car, had inadvertently found something else to invest in. CHARITY WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING FOR NANANAAM's work included assistance to widows, support for children's education, livelihood initiatives and village-level development, alongside its emphasis on water conservation. The foundation also took up relief work during disasters and the Covid-19 pandemic.The larger idea was to make rural families less dependent on emergency assistance.Without water, crops would fail. Without crops, families would lose their livelihoods. And without a livelihood, another farmer could be pushed to the brink.That became an important part of Patekar's public advocacy too. He repeatedly spoke about farmer distress and the need to prevent suicides, using the visibility that came with being a film star. He drew people's attention to an issue that often appeared in the news only as numbers.His social work was not limited to NAAM either. Through other charitable initiatives, including the Nirmala Gajanan Foundation, he was involved in education, healthcare and relief efforts. Yet the farmers' story remained central to the way his philanthropic journey was understood.NANA PATEKAR: THE LEGACY BEYOND THE SILVER SCREENNana Patekar leaves behind a formidable cinematic legacy — from Parinda and Krantiveer to Ab Tak Chhappan, Natsamrat and Welcome. He won three National Film Awards and received the Padma Shri in 2013.But his life away from the camera tells another story.During the 1999 Kargil War, Nana Patekar spent time with Indian Army personnel near the front, having reportedly undergone military training for his role in the film Prahaar. He later recalled serving alongside soldiers during the war, an experience that reflected his association with the armed forces.It is the story of a Rs 1.5-crore car that was never bought. It is the story of a television news report that made a successful actor question his own priorities. It is the story of a visit to Beed that turned a donation into a mission.Patekar's death brings an end to a career that lasted nearly five decades and entertained the mass audience of India and beyond. But the social work he helped set in motion was built around an idea much larger than one individual.- Ends