Mumbai, Jan 15 (AHN) Veteran actor Nana Patekar on Wednesday underlined the importance of exercising one’s democratic right as he arrived to cast his vote during the Maharashtra local body elections.

Calling voting “a sign of our existence,” the actor urged citizens to step out and participate in the electoral process, revealing that he had travelled for nearly three to five hours to be present at the polling booth and cast his vote.

Speaking to the media placed outside the polling booth, Nana said: “Voting is a sign of our existence. I have travelled for 3–4 hours to be here and vote. I request everyone, please cast your vote.”

Elections are being held in municipal corporations across major cities, including Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Kalyan-Dombivli, Vasai-Virar, Mira-Bhayandar, Solapur, Kolhapur, Amravati, Akola, Latur, Jalgaon, Dhule, Jalna, Chandrapur, Parbhani, Nanded-Waghala, Panvel, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Malegaon, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Ichalkaranji, Ahilyanagar, and Ulhasnagar.

Polling for the 29 municipal corporations began at 7.30 a.m. and will conclude at 5.30 p.m. The counting of votes will take place on January 16.

On the acting front, Nana was last seen on screen in Housefull 5. It marks the fifth instalment of the Housefull franchise. The film also features Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan, Shreyas Talpade, Nana Patekar, Jackie Shroff, Dino Morea, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri, Chitrangada Singh, Sonam Bajwa, Soundarya Sharma, Chunky Pandey, Nikitin Dheer, and Johnny Lever.

A murder mystery comedy, the film follows multiple impostors who claim to be the son of a recently deceased billionaire as they compete for his fortune while aboard a luxury cruise ship.

He will next be seen in the Shahid Kapoor-starrer O' Romeo, which is set to release on February 14. Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, it also stars Triptii Dimri.

The film is a high-octane action thriller. It is shot in picturesque locations. Sajid Nadiadwala of Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment produces the film.