Veteran actor and filmmaker Nana Patekar died of cardiac arrest at his home in Goa on Thursday morning at the age of 75.

According to Dr Shekhar Salkar, head of the oncology department at Manipal Hospital in Goa, Patekar messaged a friend around 2:30am saying that he was not feeling well. As it was late at night, the friend did not notice the message immediately. Patekar later called him, prompting the friend to go to his home at around 4am.

By then, Patekar was reportedly sweating heavily and had started losing consciousness. His caretaker was sent to the hospital to bring an ambulance, and an emergency medical team soon arrived at the actor's residence.

Patekar was taken to Manipal Hospital at around 4:20am to 4:30am. Doctors performed cardiac massage, or chest compressions, for nearly 45 minutes to an hour but were unable to revive him. He was declared dead at around 5:30am.

As the death was treated as a medico-legal case, police filed a complaint. His body was subsequently taken to Goa Medical College for a post-mortem examination.

Dr Salkar said Patekar was not accompanied by his family at the time and was staying with friends and a caretaker.

Born Vishwanath Patekar in Maharashtra on January 1, 1951, Nana Patekar began his Hindi film career with Gaman in 1978. He later gained recognition for films including Salaam Bombay! and Parinda.

He became the first Hindi film actor to win Filmfare Awards in all three major acting categories — Best Supporting Actor for Parinda, Best Actor for Krantiveer, and Best Villain for Angaar and Apaharan.