Is it Anand Dighe or Prasad Oak at Navratri aarti? Video sparks mystery in Thane

During the auspicious festival of Navratri, a massive crowd gathered at Tembhi Naka in Thane to witness the divine presence of Goddess Durga on Ashtami day. The event took an unexpected turn as a vehicle resembling the one Anand Dighe used to travel in arrived amidst the crowd. To everyone's surprise, actor Prasad Oak, who portrays Anand Dighe in the upcoming film 'Dharmaveer 2,' had transformed into the iconic figure for the occasion.

This heartwarming moment unfolded on a recent Sunday when Prasad Oak, the actor portraying the role of Anand Dighe, visited the Tembhi Naka temple dressed as Anand Dighe. At present, Prasad Oak is busy with the shooting of 'Dharmaveer 2' but on Ashtami day, he took on the appearance of Anand Dighe.

As Prasad Oak arrived, the onlookers gazed in awe, feeling as though Anand Dighe had come to seek the goddess's blessings himself. Prasad Oak, maintaining his striking resemblance to Anand Dighe, entered the goddess's pandal and conducted the aarti in the same manner as Dighe Saheb used to. Cinematographer Mahesh Limaye captured these significant moments, adding to the anticipation surrounding 'Dharmaveer 2.'

Director Pravin Tardeni recently unveiled 'Dharmaveer 2' with a poster release, announcing the much-anticipated film.

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Who is Anand Dighe?

Anand Dighe was a follower of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray and the mentor of rebel leader Eknath Shinde.

He began his political career in the Shiv Sena and became the president of the party’s Thane unit in 1984. Known to be a grassroot-level politician, the Sena leader — famously known for sporting a long beard and saffron tilak, lots of rings on his fingers — kept himself available 24x7 and was known for his simplicity, loyalty and honesty.

Like Balasaheb Thackeray, Dighe never contested election. He acquired mass popularity in the Thane area, and also came to be known as ‘the Balasaheb Thackeray of Thane’.

To the locals of Thane, he was a problem-solver and people would often attend his darbar at Thane's Tembhi Naka to seek his help with school-college admission for their children, hospitalisation, property disputes, among other things.

Anand Dighe was the embodiment of a hardcore Shiv Sainik and can be credited for building the party up from scratch in the Thane belt.

In the late ’80s, Dighe was arrested in connection with the murder of Mohan Khopkar, a Shiv Sena corporator who had voted against the party’s candidate in a mayoral election in Thane city which led to Sena losing. He was charged under the then draconian Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) and was in jail for a long time.

However, prison bars didn’t stop his popularity from waning and he continued to dominate politics in Thane till his death from a cardiac arrest following an accident in which his vehicle was crushed by a truck coming from the opposite direction in 2001.