The death of veteran actor Nana Patekar on 8 October has brought back a controversy that became one of the defining moments of India’s #MeToo movement.
Patekar died at 75 after suffering a cardiac arrest at his residence in Goa. Doctors reportedly tried to revive him for around 45 minutes before he was declared dead at 5:20 am.
Soon after news of his death emerged, actor Tanushree Dutta, who had accused Patekar of sexual harassment in 2018, addressed the development on Instagram.
But she did not immediately give a detailed reaction.
What Did Tanushree Dutta Say After Nana Patekar’s Death?
Dutta said she had heard about Patekar’s death but wanted to focus on an event she was travelling to Lucknow for.
In an Instagram Story video, she said she would give her reaction once she figured out what kind of reaction she wanted to have. She also offered condolences to Patekar’s family.
Her comments came on a day when she had planned to post content and attend a major event in Lucknow. She also expressed concern that media attention around Patekar’s death could overshadow her work commitments.
For Dutta and Patekar, however, this was not simply a story about two actors who once worked together.
Their association goes back to the sets of Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss.
Where Did The Controversy Begin?
The incident at the centre of the controversy dates back to March 2008, when Dutta was shooting a song for Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss at Filmistan Studios in Goregaon, Mumbai.
Dutta later alleged that Patekar, who was not originally part of the song, behaved inappropriately with her and touched her while supposedly showing her dance steps.
She also alleged that the choreography was changed to include intimate steps involving Patekar, despite her objections. According to her account, she eventually withdrew from the shoot.
Dutta further alleged that after she left the set, her car was attacked by MNS workers as she tried to leave the studio. A separate police complaint relating to the car attack was registered at the time.
She said she had also approached the Cine and TV Artistes Association, or CINTAA, in 2008.
Why Did The Issue Return 10 Years Later?
For nearly a decade, the allegations remained largely outside the national spotlight.
That changed in 2018.
As the #MeToo movement gained momentum in India, Dutta revisited the incident in interviews and publicly named Patekar. She said the alleged harassment had taken place during the 2008 shoot and that her earlier complaint had not received the response she expected.
Patekar denied the allegations and called them untrue.
In October 2018, an FIR was registered at Mumbai’s Oshiwara police station against Patekar, choreographer Ganesh Acharya, director Rakesh Sarang and producer Samee Siddiqui. The case invoked Sections 354 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code in connection with the allegations.
Dutta also sought narco-analysis, brain-mapping and lie-detector tests for those she named in connection with the allegations.
The controversy quickly became part of the wider conversation around sexual harassment and workplace safety in India's film industry.
What Happened To The Case?
The legal process did not result in a trial on the allegations.
In June 2019, Mumbai Police filed a B-summary closure report, saying their investigation had not found sufficient evidence to support Dutta’s allegations. Police said statements from 13 witnesses did not corroborate her account of inappropriate behaviour.
Importantly, the police closure report was not the same as a judicial finding after a trial.
The matter returned to court years later.
In March 2025, an Andheri magistrate court disposed of the case after finding that the FIR had been filed more than a decade after the alleged 2008 incident and that no application had been made to explain or seek condonation of the delay. The court said it therefore could not take cognisance of the alleged offences and did not examine the merits of the allegations.
A Controversy That Changed The Conversation
Dutta’s allegations against Patekar became an important early flashpoint in India's #MeToo movement, regardless of the eventual legal outcome of the case.
The police investigation did not find enough evidence to proceed on the allegations, while the 2025 court order disposed of the proceedings on limitation grounds rather than deciding whether the allegations were true or false.
Now, with Patekar’s death, attention has once again returned to that chapter.
For Dutta, her first response has been brief: she has acknowledged the news, offered condolences to his family and said she will decide what she wants to say before commenting further.
TL;DR | News At a Glance
What did Tanushree Dutta say about Nana Patekar’s death?
She said she had heard the news, offered condolences to his family and said she would give her reaction after deciding what she wanted to say.
Why were Tanushree Dutta and Nana Patekar in controversy?
Dutta accused Patekar of inappropriate behaviour and sexual harassment during the 2008 shoot of Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss. Patekar denied the allegations.
When did the allegations become a major national controversy?
Dutta publicly revisited the allegations in 2018 during India’s #MeToo movement.
What happened to the police case?
Mumbai Police filed a B-summary closure report in 2019, saying there was insufficient evidence to support the allegations.
What happened in court in 2025?
An Andheri magistrate court disposed of the case because the complaint related to a 2008 incident and the required application to explain or seek condonation of the delay had not been filed. The court did not examine the allegations on their merits.
