Nana Patekar’s death on October 8 in Goa, at 75, has brought an older Bollywood wound back into the open. As tributes for the veteran actor circulated, a sharp post from Tanushree Dutta set off another round of debate about how the industry remembers men accused of harassment.
Dutta, who had accused Patekar of misconduct on a film set, wrote on Instagram Stories: ‘Evil is dead and my life is hopefully on track for better things!’ The phrase was quickly criticised, including by the All Indian Cine Workers Association.
Sandhya Mridul enters the conversation
Without naming Dutta or Patekar, actor Sandhya Mridul posted a response that sided clearly with survivors. ‘Does a person stop being an abuser when they die? Does the harm they caused disappear too? For survivors, it doesn’t,’ she wrote. In her caption she added: ‘A survivor lives with it for as long as they live. I will always stand with the survivor.’
In a follow-up story, she said that a person’s death does not automatically erase harm. Abuse does not become untrue because the abuser is gone, and survivors’ experiences do not become less real when public tributes dominate. The language was careful, but the position was not.
The alleged incident and legal record
Dutta’s allegation goes back to the 2009 film Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss. It became public in 2018, during India’s Me Too wave. An FIR was registered against Patekar, who denied the allegations. Here is how the case moved:
- 2009: The film on which Dutta says the incident took place released.
- 2018: Dutta spoke publicly, and an FIR was registered.
- 2019: The case was closed for lack of sufficient evidence.
- 2025: A Mumbai Andheri court dismissed proceedings because the complaint was filed beyond the legal limitation period.
The dates matter because they explain why the legal case did not end with a finding on the underlying allegation. That legal outcome did not settle the social conversation. It is why, when Patekar died, the reaction split so quickly.
Why the moment matters
Bollywood often rushes to celebrate a life after death. Sandhya Mridul’s post reminds readers that public grief and private pain can sit in the same room. She wrote that it is possible to mourn someone and still remember that others may be carrying pain connected to them. ‘When only praise is allowed and survivors are forgotten, it can feel like their truth disappears all over again,’ she said.
Dutta, for her part, said on camera that she would share a fuller reaction once she had processed the day. Her immediate focus was a work event in Lucknow, but the media attention was elsewhere.
For celebrity-watchers, this is a story about which voices get centred when a famous figure dies. It is also a reminder that the Me Too chapter in Bollywood did not fully close, even where courts did.
Source: Hindustan Times
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