Pratyusha Banerjee and Nana Patekar

New Delhi: Veteran actor Nana Patekar has been associated with the cause of farmers in Maharashtra since long and he has done quite a bit to create awareness about their plights. On one hand while Nana is saddened and troubled by the farmers’ committing suicide, he is also angry at the attention the suicide of actress Pratyusha Banerjee has garnered.

While speaking to a leading news channel, Nana said,

“The girl (Pratyusha) dying was most unfortunate. But it is being highlighted day after day in the media. What about farmers who kill themselves? Are their lives not worth anything?”

Nana Patekar was among the first celebs to bring masses’ attention towards the tragic deaths of farmers. He started an NGO called NAAM Foundation in 2015 in association with noted Marathi actor Makrand Anaspure to help drought affected farmers and widows of farmers who committed suicide in large numbers. Nana keeps visiting the villages of the farmers who lost their lives and has urged people to come together to better the lives of the ones who work to feed us.

“Nana tends to get too emotional about national issues. He should be more restrained. His powerful voice will go a very long way,”

a filmmaker who has worked closely with Nana said in the interview.

The state of Maharashtra has seen 3,228 farmer suicides in 2015, the highest since 2015. According to data, almost nine farmers end their lives each day in the state. The worst affected areas are Vidarbha and Marathwada, accounting for 83% of all farmer suicides in the state.

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