Mumbai, Oct. 8 -- Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has paid an emotional tribute to veteran actor Nana Patekar, who passed away at the age of 75 on Thursday morning following a cardiac arrest at his residence in Goa.

In an X post, Shah Rukh shared an old picture of himself with Nana Patekar and remembered the late actor as his "mentor, teacher, critic and friend."

Recalling their first meeting, SRK wrote that he was so awestruck and awkward that he began fiddling with his hair, prompting Nana to slap his hand away and tell him, "hero ki tarah Baal mat bana...tu actor hai".

"When I first met him, out of awe and awkwardness I fiddled with my hair. He slapped my hand away and said 'hero ki tarah Baal mat bana...tu actor hai'! He didn't flat...