Veteran Marathi actor Vijay Kadam passed away after battling cancer on Saturday (August 10). He was 67. The actor breathed his last at his home. His last rites will reportedly take place in Mumbai.

Kadam courageously fought cancer for the past year and a half, however, after initially overcoming the illness, his health condition worsened as the cancer relapsed. Reportedly, he was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Andheri, Mumbai.

Actor Ajinkya Deo informed about Kadam’s death on social media. Taking to his X account, Deo wrote, “Sad to inform the demise of a very fine actor a dear friend Vijay Kadam May his soul rest in peace.”

Kadam was a well-known Marathi actor celebrated for his contributions to the Marathi film and television industry. He had a prolific career spanning several decades and was admired for his versatile acting skills and his ability to portray a wide range of characters, from comedic to serious roles.

He also gained popularity for his work in various Marathi stage productions.

Some of his notable projects include Aanandi Aanand (1987), Tere Mere Sapne (1996), Dekhni Bayko Namyachi (2001), Revati (2005), Topi Ghala Re (2010), Bluffmaster (2012), Bhet Tuji Maji (2013) and Monkey Baat (2018).

Apart from films, Kadam has also acted in several Marathi TV series’. He starred in plays like Tur Tur, Pappa Sanga Kunache, Vichha Majhi Puri Kara and Sahi De Sahi.

Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan is currently in Paris, attending the Olympics 2024, and on Thursday, he caught up with Neeraj Chopra, who made India proud by clinching a silver in the javelin throw event. A video of their exchange has gone viral on the internet, and netizens loved the interaction between Abhishek and Neeraj.

In the video, Neeraj can be seen walking out of the stadium with the tricolour wrapped around his shoulder. As soon as he saw Abhishek, he walked towards him, and the actor gave the silver medalist a tight hug.

Abhishek was also seen congratulating Neeraj on achieving the massive feat and sharing words of encouragement with him. He also patted Neeraj on the back, before the latter walked out of the stadium.

“Nice gesture by Abhishek Bachchan and you make the nation proud. Well done!” a user wrote, while another stated, “Thanks Jr Bachchan for congratulating our hero.”

Prior to javelin throw finals, Abhishek took to his Instagram handle to share a photo from the Paris Olympics venue. In the picture, he can be seen looking dapper as he posed with the Indian tricolour at the stadium. “Represent!! Jai Hind!” he wrote.

Neeraj made Indian proud as he clinched the first silver medal for Indian in the ongoing Paris Olympics. In the final round, he threw the javelin to 89.45 metre. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem took home the gold medal as he broke the Olympics record with his 92.97 metre javelin throw.

Post Neeraj’s win, several other Bollywood stars congratulated him for the silver. Kareena Kapoor Khan shared a picture of Neeraj and wrote, “Champion!”, while Ayushmann Khurrana wrote, “India’s shining star… shabaash Neeraj.”

Rakul Preet Singh, Nimrat Kaur, Twinkle Khanna, and others also congratulated the athlete.

Veteran actress and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan raked up the issue of the use of Amitabh Bachchan’s name once again in the Parliament on Friday, and she even went on to attack Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar over his ‘tone’. But he seemed to be in no mood to entertain her, and he gave her a befitting reply, silencing her and evoking applause from the Opposition.

It all began after Dhankhar addressed her as ‘Smt Jaya Amitabh Bachchan’ and asked her to present her opinion on the point that was being discussed. However, the veteran actress stood up and went on to say, “Main Jaya Amitabh Bachchan ye bolna chahti hoon…I am an artist, I understand body language and expressions. And sir, I am sorry, but your tone is not acceptable. We are colleagues sir, you may be sitting on the chair, but we are colleagues.”

Jagdeep Dhankhar lashes out at Jaya Bachchan

Her comment did not go down well with Dhankhar who then lost her cool and decided to shut her down. He asked the Parliament to calm down and said, “I can deal with this”.

He then proceeded to say, “Jaya ji, you’ve earned a great reputation. But you know, an actor is subject to the director. You have not seen what I see from here.”

He added, “Every day, I don’t want to repeat. I don’t want schooling. I am a person who has gone out of the way and you say, my tone? Enough of it! You may be anybody, you maybe a celebrity, but you have to understand the decorum.”

“I will not bear it. Nothing doing. Never carry an impression that only you bring reputation here. We too come with our reputations and we live up to that reputation,” Dhankhar lashed out.

Opposition stages walkout

He then proceeded to the next point, without presenting an opportunity to Jaya to speak any further.

Post Jaya’s spat with Dhankhar, the Opposition, led by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, staged a walkout in a show of their support for the veteran actress.

They also demanded an apology from Dhankhar for the “disrespect”.

Jaya Bachchan’s Amitabh name row

It all began on July 29 when Jaya had first objected to her introduction in the Rajya Sabha as ‘Jaya Amitabh Bachchan’, stating that she had an identity of her own, without her husband’s name.

On August 5, she stirred the same argument in the Parliament once again when her name was called out, however, Dhankhar handled the situation and asked her to change her name officially on her nomination papers if she did not want ‘Amitabh’ attached to it.

“There is a provision to change the name that you have submitted for your election certificate. Please use it and change it officially,” Dhankhar had said, evoking cheers and applause from the others in the Rajya Sabha.

Netizens too had lauded Dhankhar for his response and had slammed Jaya for her demeanour in the Parliament.