Actress Tanushree Dutta has questioned the circumstances surrounding veteran actor Nana Patekar’s death, speculating during an Instagram Live interaction that his passing could help him avoid potential scrutiny if his name were to emerge in investigations linked to the deaths of Sushant Singh Rajput and Disha Salian.
Patekar died on October 8 at the age of 75 following a cardiac arrest, according to reports citing hospital sources and confirmation from his son. Dutta, who had accused the actor of sexual harassment during the #MeToo movement, expressed suspicion about his death but offered no evidence to substantiate her speculation.
“If he has died also I am a little bit doubtful. Because now the case of Sushant Singh Disha Salyan has come out. So, a lot of people are getting exposed. And a very deep investigation is going on,” she said during the interaction.
She added that she wondered whether his death could be “a way to escape”, suggesting that his name might emerge if investigators uncovered a connection. Her remarks did not establish any link between Patekar and the cases she mentioned.
Dutta had accused Patekar of sexually harassing her on the sets of the 2008 film Horn ‘OK’ Pleassss. Patekar denied the allegations.
During the livestream, Dutta also revisited the difficulties she says she experienced after making the allegations, accusing people associated with the episode of damaging her career, causing emotional distress and creating problems in her personal life.
“The person who ruined my life. The person who sent goons. The person who gave me anxiety. The person who harassed me. The person who ruined my work,” she said, alleging that she had faced intimidation and career sabotage.
Dutta also spoke about her spiritual journey, saying that visits to Ujjain, devotion to Mahakal, chanting and meditation had helped her cope with the difficult period.
She recounted experiences that she described as threatening, including suspicions about a domestic worker and an alleged incident involving an autorickshaw whose brakes she believed had been tampered with. These claims were not independently established in the account.
The actress said she was still recovering but hoped to resume dancing after her leg improved. She also challenged the idea that a person’s death should prevent others from speaking about alleged past wrongdoing, invoking the example of Ravana.