Eminent Marathi and Bollywood actor, Nana Patekar’s alleged relationship with the gorgeous diva of the time, Manisha Koirala was considered tragic and tumultuous. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the couple resembled the union of two alphas, and after their breakup, there was not a moment of a second thought before the duo could move on in their lives. Well, then, take a look at their unfinished love story.
In 1996, Manisha and Nana were roped in to be the lead actors for the film, Agni Sakshi. Since the duo was well-established actors by this time, thus their pairing on-screen delighted the audience. Interestingly, this was also when Manisha had barely walked out of her past relationship with actor, Vivek Mushran and was emotionally weak. And so it was while shooting for the film, she fell in love with Nana’s charismatic personality. On the other hand, Nana too, fell in love with her beauty. Thus, they secretly began dating one another.
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When Nana dated Manisha, he was already married to his wife, Neelkanti. The actor married in 1978 when he was 27 years old, and their families made their match. Interestingly, Nana Patekar lived separately from Neelkanti despite having an understanding equation. In an interview, Nana once opened up about the bonding he shares with his wife and called her his pillar of strength. In his words:
“Nilkanti and I shared numerous years of happiness together. We supported each other through thick and thin. But, over the years, we developed certain irreconcilable differences and grew apart. Today, we continue to be married but stay separately."
Nana and Manisha continued their secret relationship for a long time. After Agni Sakshi became a hit at the box office, the duo was roped in to share the screen for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film, Khamoshi. By this time, the news of their secret relationship gradually spread like wildfire, and nearly everyone could guess that their on-screen emotions had also seeped into their real life. Interestingly, Manisha’s neighbours also added to the gossip of having spotted Nana leaving the actress’s place many times. However, Nana Patekar had a different answer to being frequently spotted visiting Manisha’s place. In his words:
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“She often visited my mother and son and they received her with affection.”
As individuals, both Nana and Manisha were known to have a high temper in their personalities. Sadly, it was the reason for cracks developing in their relationship after some time. With time, Nana grew very possessive about Manisha, which went on to the extent of his objections towards her wearing revealing clothes. He even was critical about Manisha becoming intimate with her co-stars. Such frequent hindrances heated Manisha, who used to have a lot of fights and arguments with Nana. And the duo even stopped talking to one another at a point in time, leading to Manisha doubting the future of her relationship with Nana.
On the other hand, despite staying away from his wife for so many years, Nana Patekar was not ready to divorce her and marry Manisha. And it is this very dilemma which led him to take an unforgivable step in his relationship with Manisha. As a distraction from his current relationship, Nana Patekar cheated on Manisha as he became intimate with another popular actress of the time, Ayesha Jhulka.
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The final nail in the coffin of their sinking relationship came about when Manisha Koirala caught Nana Patekar and Ayesha Jhulka red-handed as they shared an intimate moment in a closed room. And as she was shell-shocked at Nana’s behaviour, she had reportedly yelled at Ayesha with cuss words and said:
“Get off my man, you bi***.”
This incident was undoubtedly the deal-breaker moment, and Manisha broke up with Nana. As she walked away from this rollercoaster affair, she felt she was not ready to perhaps ever fall in love again. But for Nana, things were a bit different. While initially, he seemed to be indifferent to his breakup with Manisha and carried on his fling with Ayesha Jhulka and even made their relationship official. He revealed his true emotions about the entire episode much later. In an interview, Nana finally opened up about his breakup with Manisha and mentioned:
“She is the most sensitive actress around. She is like a kasturi hiran, she still needs to realise that she doesn't need to keep pace with anyone. She has it all and that's more than enough. I can barely hold back the tears when I see what she's doing to herself. Maybe I don't have anything to say about her today! A break-up is a very difficult phase. You have to experience it to know the pain. I can't describe the pain I went through. Please, let's not talk about this. I miss Manisha!"
Post her breakup with Nana Patekar, Manisha made the bold step and moved on from her pained past. She began to date a few other men like DJ Whosane, Crispin Conroy, and Cecil Anthony. In 2010, Manisha married a fellow Nepali businessman, Samrat Dahal. Unfortunately, their marital bliss was short-lived, and the couple divorced two years later.
After the death of his first son, Nana was completely shattered thereafter. He found no other option than to return to his wife, who had welcomed him with open arms. To date, the actor lives with his wife and second son, Malhar Patekar.
What do you think about Nana Patekar’s tragic love story with Manisha Koirala?
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