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Nana Patekar’s son Malhar rebuts Tanushree Dutta remarks, says case ended long ago
Nana Patekar’s son Malhar responded to Tanushree Dutta’s remarks after the actor’s 8 October death, saying the dispute was legally settled. Dutta has continued to reference years-old allegations while also questioning the circumstances of his death.
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Malhar Patekar, the son of late actor Nana Patekar, has pushed back against remarks made by former actor and model Tanushree Dutta in the days after his father’s death, saying the matter she has repeatedly raised was settled long ago and that the courts had already dealt with it.
In a brief reaction carried in multiple reports on Friday, Malhar did not name Dutta directly but referred to the long-running dispute linked to her allegations. He said the issue had reached a legal end, and that revisiting it now would not change the facts.
The exchange has reignited public attention around Dutta, who has been issuing a series of statements since Patekar’s death on 8 October 2026 in Goa, when he died of a heart attack. Some of her comments have questioned the circumstances of his demise while also returning to years-old allegations of sexual harassment connected to the two.
Malhar’s response after the funeral
Malhar’s remarks, as reported, leaned on two points: that the judiciary had already cleared his father, and that the case was over. He framed the renewed debate as an attempt to drag a closed legal dispute back into the spotlight.
He also suggested that “truth” would not change, using language that has been widely quoted in Hindi coverage of the reaction. Even there, he avoided taking Dutta’s name.
The response came amid heightened scrutiny online, where Dutta has faced trolling and criticism for speaking about Patekar so soon after his death. Her comments have circulated widely in entertainment media and on social platforms.
Dutta’s recent statements have focused on two tracks: the old allegations and her reaction to Patekar’s death.
In one set of remarks reported in Hindi outlets, she described the news of his death as an “evil dead” moment, language that drew sharp backlash. She also spoke about being on a workday, saying she was travelling for an event and wanted to focus on that, while expressing concern that media attention would shift.
Alongside those comments, Dutta has again referenced the past dispute involving Patekar, repeating claims that have been in the public domain for years. Malhar’s response has been read as a rebuttal to both the timing and the substance of her renewed criticism, though he addressed it only in general terms.
Dutta has not, in the material available on Friday, issued a fresh reply specifically to Malhar’s statement.
Why Tanushree Dutta remains in focus
Dutta, once a prominent face in Hindi cinema and modelling, has often returned to public conversation through moments that sit at the intersection of celebrity, gender politics and legal process.
A former beauty queen, she won Femina Miss India Universe 2004 and represented India at Miss Universe 2004 in Ecuador, placing in the Top 10. She later acted in mostly Hindi films between 2005 and 2010 before stepping away from regular film work.
The renewed attention this month has less to do with her screen career than with her decision to speak again about her allegations in the immediate aftermath of Patekar’s death. That timing has shaped the reaction: supporters argue she has a right to speak, while critics say reopening old claims after a death is unfair and inflammatory.
What Malhar’s intervention does, at minimum, is draw a line between two kinds of arguments. One is moral and public, playing out in interviews and online debate. The other is legal, where he insists the matter has already been resolved.
For now, the dispute appears set to continue as a media and social-media confrontation rather than a new court battle, at least on the basis of what has been reported so far. The immediate next development to watch will be whether Dutta responds directly to Malhar’s statement, or whether she continues to address the controversy through broader comments about her earlier allegations and Patekar’s death.
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