Vijay Patkar on Pradeep Patwardhan’s demise: I lost a close friend; he called me eight days ago

Veteran Marathi actor Pradeep Patwardhan, known for his performance in films such as Chashme Bahaddar (2006) and Mee Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy (2009) died Tuesday morning following a heart attack. Patwardhan was 65, when he breathed his last at his residence in Girgaon, Mumbai.

Patwardhan’s close friend, actor Vijay Patkar revealed that the actor had a cardiac arrest at around 7-8am. The two have worked together in several projects including Lavu Ka Laath.

“We have known each other for over 38 years. We have done college together. We even worked together in a bank and did a lot of one-act plays there. Whenever I got a chance (as a director, or producer) I took him as an actor. He was a very good actor. We had a great bond. I just lost a close friend. He just called me eight days ago and said, let’s do some work together, alas, that won’t happen,” Patkar recalls.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde mourned Patwardhan’s demise and said Marathi cinema had lost a “great artist” today. “Pradeep Patvardhan, the evergreen actor who ruled the hearts of the audience with his graceful acting in Marathi cinema, passed away tragically. With his departure, the Marathi art world has lost a great artist,” the chief minister wrote in Marathi on Twitter.

Actor Renuka Shahane tweeted, “Om Shanti Pradeep Patwardhan Heartfelt Tribute.”