#Rewind2020: From Ganga becoming Marathi TV's first transgender host to actor Rohan Pandekar selling fish during lockdown; here are some major news from telly town

The year 2020 proved to be a tearjerker and has also been eventful yet controversial for the Marathi television industry. Actors from the industry entertained the audience, while a few shocked everyone with their controversial takes. Take a quick look at the newsmakers who grabbed the headlines in 2020.

Transgender actor Ganga made her debut on television as a host with her TV show Yuva Dancing Queen. Along with her debut, she also became the Marathi television's first transgender host and made headlines with her appearance. From sharing her journey from Pranit Hatte to Ganga to revealing her bitter experience as a transgender person, Ganga has indeed won everyone's hearts.(PC - Instagram)

Rohan Pednekar, who rose to fame with the popular Marathi TV show Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, was going through a major financial crisis during the lockdown. The actor, who is the only bread earner of his family, sold packets of dried fish to survive financially. The actor also had suicidal thoughts, but today he has become a successful entrepreneur and wants to inspire other actors as well. Rohan is soon going to launch his own for fish marketing. (PC - Instagram)

Marathi actor and Khulta Kali Khulena actress Mayuri Deshmukh's husband Ashutosh Bhakre was found dead at his home in Nanded town, Maharashtra on July 29. The actor was reportedly found hanging in his flat in Ganesh Nagar. Ashutosh's untimely death news left everyone in shock. Mayuri and Ashutosh got married on January 21, 2016. (PC - Instagram)

Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale had posted a video on her social media about epilepsy, in which she addressed her followers in Hindi. Soon after, the actress was trolled brutally in the comments section for not speaking in Marathi. Following the threatening and abusive comments. Ketaki then called out some of her trolls in a video and linked them to Shivaji Maharaj. Ketaki's reaction sparked the fire in two Maratha community groups from Pune, who have filed a complaint against Ketaki and alleged that she had hurt their sentiments by intentionally making statements about Shivaji Maharaj. Later, Ketaki clarified the issue on social media. (PC - Instagram)

Mazhya Navryachi Bayko actress Isha Keskar who played the role of Shanaya in the show, left the show midway for her personal reasons. Later, actress Rasika Sunil stepped into the shoes of Isha and played the character of Shanaya.

A video of 85-year-old Shantabai Pawar, who performed stunning martial art stunts with sticks on Pune's streets to earn a living, went viral during the lockdown. However, while helping her financially, many people shot videos and even asked her to perform the same task again. Sharing her views on the same, Marathi TV director Kedar Shinde called this a 'Shameful' behavior and requested everyone to not act like this. (PC - Instagram)

Rupali Bhosle on Jaan Kumar Sanu's Marathi language controversy

In one of Bigg Boss 14's episodes, Jaan Kumar Sanu had a tiff with Nikki Tamboli and Rahul Vaidya. During one of the arguments, Nikki and Rahul started speaking in Marathi and Jaan thought she talked against him in front of Rahul. In his defence, Jaan told Nikki not to speak in Marathi, and this statement created controversies. Actors from the Marathi industry lashed out at Jaan through social media, while a few showed their support for Jaan. Actress Rupali Bhosle had also lashed out at Jaan and advised him to join the Bengali Bigg Boss. (PC- Instagram)

Marathi actress Prajakta Gaikwad, who played the lead role in the TV show Aai Mazi Kalubai got axed from the TV show Aai Mazi Kalubai after the cast and crew complained to the producer Alka Kubal. While talking to ETimes TV, Alka Kubal clarified, "Artists were getting affected by Prajakta's rude behavior. The entire unit is witness to her tantrums. Prajakta's behavior was unprofessional. We have decided to axe Prajakta Gaikwad out of Kalubai because it was getting unbearable for us." (PC - Instagram)

Veteran Marathi actor Ravi Patwardhan, who rose to fame with the Marathi TV show Aggabai Sasubai, passed away on (December 6). The actor suffered a heart attack. Since the lockdown, the actor was not shooting on the set and preferred to stay away from the shoot as a safety measure amid the corona scare. His co-stars Nivedita Saraf, Bhagyesh Patil, were shocked after learning about the demise. (PC - Instagram)

In the end, here is a piece of good news for all the Bigg Boss Marathi fans. The much-awaited controversial show, Bigg Boss Maraxi season 3, is likely to premiere in 2021. Sources close to the makers revealed to ETimes TV that the team that Bigg Boss Marathi season 3 will launch in 2021. Earlier it was about to launch in November, but due to the pandemic, the makers decided to postpone the show to 2021. (PC - Instagram)