Pune(PTI): Veteran film, television and stage actor Vikram Gokhale on Saturday died at a city-based hospital, where he had been undergoing treatment for the last couple of weeks, the hospital authorities said. Gokhale, 77, was admitted to the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital here earlier this month following health complications.

His mortal remains will be kept at the Balgandharva Auditorium in the city and the last rites will be performed at the Vaikunth crematorium in the evening, a family friend of the actor said.

Gokhale, an artist equally at home in theatre, television and movies, acted in several Marathi and Bollywood films, including the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer "Agneepath" (1990), "Bhool Bhulaiyaa" (2007), "Natsamrat" (2015) and "Mission Mangal" (2019). His latest release is the Marathi film "Godavari".

 

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Bengaluru: A video clip of an argument between an Uber driver and a customer over the use of air conditioning (AC) has sparked widespread discussion on social media about the challenges faced by passengers with cab drivers in Bengaluru.

The video, posted by the customer on his personal 'X' account on Sunday, shows a heated exchange where the customer requests the driver to turn on the AC. The driver responds angrily, stating that the AC was not working. When the customer insists, the driver remains silent, leading the customer to suggest that he be dropped off if the driver did not wish to accommodate him.

In a second clip attached to the post, the customer is seen rebuking the driver for getting upset over a minor issue and expressing his dissatisfaction with traveling in an Indica. The driver responds by demanding that the customer speak to him in Kannada, instead of Hindi.

Providing context for the incident, the customer posted, "Since everyone is forming an opinion, let me share the context here - 16sec video is 1st followed by the other video. I denied to sit in his friend’s Indica as it didn’t have AC and was filthy. Then I sat in his car and he talked to me in Hindi only. But the moment I asked him to turn on the AC, he got charged up. Listen to him responding in Hindi 'AC nahi hai'. It’s not about language here; it’s about an arrogant and irresponsible person using Kannada language as a smokescreen to continue scamming gullible people who travel to BLR for work."

The customer also shared the registration number of the cab and tagged Uber support in another post.

The incident resonated with many social media users, who shared similar experiences. One user commented, "I also face the same problem but not in a cab but in a hospital. He asked me why I came to Karnataka if I don't know Kannada. It happened in Karnataka."

Another user recounted, "Couple of such drivers I met in NCR & Bangalore, was taught a nice lesson by me. Those drivers will never forget me. It was during my college days."

Suggestions on how to handle such situations were also shared. One user recommended filing a complaint with the app, mentioning the driver's rude behavior to lower his ratings, while advising against bringing such matters to public attention.

This incident is reminiscent of a similar case from March 2023, where an auto rickshaw driver in Bengaluru refused to speak in Hindi and criticized a passenger for not speaking Kannada, which also went viral on social media.

Uber is yet to publicly respond to the specific complaint, but the incident has highlighted ongoing issues between passengers and drivers in the city, particularly concerning language and service expectations.