Ganpat Patil

Ganpat Patil was a prominent actor in Marathi drama and movies. He was fondly called Nachya as his portrayal of this character in multiple ventures helped him boost his career. Nachya is a traditional character in Marathi dance form Lavani and Marathi plays. He lost his father in his early life and had to help his mother to support the seven members of the family. He did so by taking up menial jobs like selling bread and garlands. He eventually started following his dream of becoming an actor.

His first break in acting was as a child artist in the play Bal Dhruv where he portrayed the role of an extra. Later in his life, he made news for an attempt to commit suicide in Kolhapur at the Panchganga River. He had four children, two daughters and two sons. He worked in over 17 dramas and 62 movies in his career. Early on in his career, he specialised in playing the part of a Nachya in projects like Jali Mandi Pikali Karavand and Aika Ho Aika. Director Krishna Patil noticed his work in various stage performances and offered him the similar role of a Nachya in Wadhya Murali. Although he mainly did supporting roles, he got a chance to play a lead in Bhalji Pendharkar’s Sakhya Sajana. Allegedly, for this flick, Ganpat gave up his role in Pinjara. Sakhya Sajana was a movie about a Nachya who is not content with his sexuality and decides to take a medical step on the same, later in the film he regains his confidence and lives a happily married life.

From the career graph of the great actor, it can be easily pointed that he was typecast in a certain kind of roles, hence limiting his aura of versatility and growth. For his unmatched and phenomenal work and dedication to the industry, Ganpat Patil was given a lot of accreditations and awards. In 2006, he received the Chitrabhushan Award for his contribution to the Marathi film industry.

He is also often described as "The unconventional star of a timeless era". Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal was the organisation that gave him the Chitrabhushan award in 2006. He also received the Zee Marathi Lifetime Achievement Award. He was declared dead on March 23rd of 2008 in his house. Many celebrities and known personalities mourned the great loss of the industry and art in general.