The actor who accused Patekar of harassment during the 2018 MeToo wave posted a cautious Instagram video hours after his death from cardiac arrest in Goa.
Nana Patekar died early Thursday morning after a cardiac arrest at his residence in Dona Paula, Goa. He was 75. Doctors at Manipal Hospital worked on him for close to 45 minutes before declaring him dead around 5:20 am, according to Bollywood Bubble.
As tributes poured in through the day from colleagues and fans, one reaction stood out for a different reason. Tanushree Dutta, whose 2018 accusations against Patekar became a flashpoint of India's MeToo movement, posted a video on her Instagram stories that was careful, almost reluctant, in how it addressed the news.
"Maine suna hai. I have heard the news," she said, according to both Bollywood Bubble and Cinema Express. "I just... Today is my work day. I am going to Lucknow for an event and I want to focus on that."
She didn't name Patekar directly in the clip, though it was clear who she meant. Dutta said she had her day mapped out around the Lucknow event and had planned to post content through the day, but worried the news cycle would now swallow all of it. "I'm worried that in the evening, that's all the media is going to be interested in," she said, before adding that she would respond properly once she had worked out "what kind of reaction I should have." She did close with: "Definitely condolences to the family." The video cut off before she said more.
The case that never went to trial
Dutta first alleged in 2008 that Patekar had insisted on inappropriate dance steps during a song shoot for Horn 'Ok' Pleasss, filing a complaint with CINTAA that she said went nowhere. She revived the allegation publicly in 2018, naming Patekar along with choreographer Ganesh Acharya, director Rakesh Sarang and producer Samee Siddiqui in a police complaint, per Cinema Express.
Mumbai Police closed the case in 2019 with a B-summary report, citing insufficient evidence. Patekar denied the allegations outright, telling The Lallantop at the time, "I knew whatever was being said didn't happen. I didn't get angry. I am not bothered by it." In 2025, an Andheri magistrate court dismissed the criminal proceedings altogether, on the grounds that Dutta's original complaint had been filed outside the legal limitation period, Bollywood Bubble reported.
Nothing in that record was ever tested in a full trial. The allegations remain allegations, closed on procedure rather than resolved on merit, and that's the context Dutta's measured response was navigating Thursday.
Meanwhile, the family has set out plans for the day. Patekar's body is being kept briefly at his ancestral farmhouse in Donje, near Pune, for colleagues, villagers and family to pay respects, ahead of cremation with full state honours expected around 4 pm. The National award-winning actor was last seen on screen in Vishal Bhardwaj's O' Romeo and in Prakash Jha's series Sankalp.
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