Veteran actor Nana Patekar died on Thursday, October 8, at the age of 75. Reports say he suffered a severe cardiac arrest at his residence in Dona Paula, Goa.

He was found unconscious in the early hours of the morning and rushed to Manipal Hospital. Doctors tried to revive him with about 45 minutes of continuous CPR but could not save him. He was declared dead at around 5:20 in the morning.

A medico-legal case has been registered, and a post-mortem will be conducted at Goa Medical College. This is standard procedure when a patient dies who was not registered at the hospital.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the tributes. He said few actors had Patekar’s intensity and unmistakable presence, and that his contribution to Hindi and Marathi cinema was immense.

Patekar made his film debut with Gaman in 1978. He won three National Film Awards for performances in Parinda, Krantiveer and Agni Sakshi. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2013.

He is survived by his son Malhar Patekar. The film industry described his passing as the end of an era in Indian cinema.