Aneet Padda and Aditya Sarpotdar pay tribute to Nana Patekar

Aneet Padda has paid an emotional tribute to Nana Patekar, her co-star in the horror comedy Shakti Shalini. The film is now set to be the veteran actor's last.

Patekar died on Thursday. He was cremated with full state honours at his Donje farmhouse in Pune.

In a note on Instagram, the young actress said she barely spoke at their first meeting. "I think I was just taking it all in," she wrote. She described him as honest and unfiltered, a man who chose simplicity over the noise of fame. She added that simply being around him was "a lesson I will always carry with me."

Padda said she learnt a great deal just by watching him work. She signed off with, "I'm grateful our paths crossed, even if only for a short while, and I'll carry it for the rest of my life. Rest in peace, Sir."

Director Aditya Sarpotdar also posted about the actor on Instagram. What he would remember most, he wrote, was "the childlike enthusiasm he brought to every film set." He recalled going to Patekar's farmhouse with his writer to narrate the film. He said Patekar never looked at his own part in isolation and kept thinking about the script, the world of the film and his fellow actors.

Sarpotdar said the two had talked about the film's post-production only 10 days before Patekar's death, and that the actor was excited to watch it. The film, he said, will be "a tribute to one of the best actors of our cinema."

Reports say the release has moved to the first quarter of 2027. No official date has been announced yet.