Veteran actor Nana Patekar died at 75 in Goa on Thursday, October 8, 2026.

His death brings renewed attention to a long-running controversy involving actor Tanushree Dutta, whose allegations against Patekar in 2018 became one of the defining episodes of India’s #MeToo movement.

The controversy dates back to the shooting of the 2008 Hindi film ‘Horn Ok Please’.

Dutta, who was part of the film, alleged years later that Patekar had sexually harassed her during the filming of a song sequence. Patekar denied the allegations, calling them false and baseless.

What Tanushree Dutta alleged

In 2018, Dutta revived her allegations in interviews, saying she felt uncomfortable during the filming of a song for Horn 'Ok' Pleassss in 2008. According to her account, Patekar wanted her to perform an intimate dance sequence with him, even though the sequence was initially planned as a solo number.

Dutta alleged that Patekar behaved inappropriately with her on set and that members of the film's production team were involved in what followed.

She also alleged that when she and her family attempted to leave the location, her car was surrounded and damaged by people she identified as supporters of a political party.

The events surrounding her exit from the set were separately reported in 2008, when a complaint concerning the alleged attack on her vehicle was made to the police. Dutta had also approached the Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) at the time.

CINTAA revisited the matter in 2018 and said that, after examining Dutta's 2008 complaint, it believed the association's handling of the sexual-harassment grievance at the time had been inappropriate.

However, it also said its rules prevented it from taking up cases more than three years old.

Nana Patekar's response

Patekar consistently denied Dutta's allegations. In 2018, after CINTAA issued him a notice seeking his response, he submitted a detailed reply rejecting the accusations and calling them false and baseless.

He also indicated that he was considering legal action over the allegations.

Dutta subsequently filed an FIR with Mumbai Police in October 2018 naming Patekar along with choreographer Ganesh Acharya, director Rakesh Sarang and producer Sami Siddiqui in connection with her allegations.

The case became a major talking point during the emergence of the #MeToo movement in India, with several other women subsequently coming forward with allegations of sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry.

What the police investigation found

In 2019, Mumbai Police submitted a B-summary report to the magistrate's court after investigating the allegations. The police said they found insufficient evidence to prosecute Patekar and the other accused.

The report described the FIR as false, while also recording statements from witnesses who, according to the police report, said they had not witnessed any untoward incident during the shooting.

Dutta opposed the closure report and filed a protest petition, seeking further investigation.

She maintained that the investigation had not adequately examined her allegations and witnesses. The matter therefore remained before the court for several years.

What the court said in 2025

In March 2025, a Mumbai magistrate's court disposed of the case after refusing to take cognisance of the alleged 2008 incident.

The court noted that the FIR had been filed in 2018, more than a decade after the alleged incident, and that the relevant offenses were subject to a limitation period.

Importantly, the magistrate's order did not establish that Dutta's allegation was true or false.

The court specifically observed that the alleged first incident could not be characterized as true or false because the limitation period barred it, and the court therefore could not adjudicate the facts of that allegation.

The court also considered the police's B-summary report, which said the investigation found no incriminating material against the accused.

The legal proceedings therefore ended without a trial determining the truth of the original 2008 allegation.

The controversy nevertheless became a significant moment in Bollywood's reckoning with allegations of sexual misconduct.

Dutta's decision to revisit the incident publicly in 2018 helped bring the #MeToo movement to the center of India's entertainment industry, while Patekar continued to deny the allegations.

As the actor's death at 75 marks the end of his long career in Hindi and Marathi cinema, the controversy remains part of his public record, alongside competing accounts of the events, the police investigation, and the subsequent court proceedings.