2020 in Review: From Sushant Singh's death to Deepika Padukone's 'Chhapaak' row, controversies that shocked Bollywood

Celebrity is an unpredictable friend as many Bollywood starlets and A-listers found out this year. In some cases dirty laundry was aired while in others lawsuits were filed. Here’s a look at some of the most eyebrow-raising happenings this year from the world of showbiz.

At the beginning of the year, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone headed to Jawaharlal Nehru University campus in Delhi and stood alongside students protesting violence. Owing to the fact that her film ‘Chhapaak’ was on its way to a release, Twitter thrummed with dissent, with people calling her move a publicity stunt.

‘Paatal Lok’ may have won fans for its depiction of the criminal underworld in India, but it was also subjected to some brickbats. BJP MLA Nandkishor Gurjar filed a complaint against Anushka Sharma, for instance, for producing the show while Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa slammed the portrayal of Sikhs in the series.

It’s terrible enough to be a COVID-19 superspreader but what happens when the world finds out about it? Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor, who declared early in the pandemic that she had tested positive, was the subject of much trolling because she had spent the first few days of infection mingling with many people.

We lost a number of celebrities this year, but one that particularly shocked fans was the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, who was found dead in his Mumbai home on June 14. However, it was what came next that rippled through the nation’s consciousness with conspiracy theories grabbing headlines almost daily. While some theorised he was murdered, others stated he was pressured into suicide. A drug angle was also probed, leading to a number of people — including Padukone — being questioned and Rajput’s girlfriend, Rhea Chakraborty, and her brother, Showik, being jailed.

Sonu Nigam is no stranger to controversy. When the neopotism debate began in earnest – sparked by Rajput’s death - he said he wouldn’t be surprised if there were many cases of suicide in the music industry, because of the ‘mafia’. He accused Bhushan Kumar of being a bully. In response, Divya Khosla Kumar of T-Series released a video that only added fuel to the fire.

What’s in a name? Apparently everything. Akshay Kumar’s project ‘Laxmi Bomb’ had to change its name before release because it was said to be disrespectful to a Hindu deity. But the name change didn’t help all that much for it was then trolled for an inter-faith relationship. [The movie did release finally.]

It is not just the younger generation of actors engaging in a war of words. Senior members of the film industry, including BJP MP Ravi Kishan and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan, took jibes at one another in the Indian Parliament. It so happened that the Bhojpuri actor lauded NCB’s investigation into Rajput’s death and claimed that “drug addiction is in the film industry too”. Reacting to this, the veteran actress hit back saying the reputation of the entire film industry shouldn’t be tarnished because of some people consuming drugs. She said she was “embarrassed” and “ashamed” to listen to Ravi’s remarks. Within no time, Kangana Ranaut was quick to target Bachchan, igniting the nepotism debate yet again.

Kangana Ranaut has been weaving in and out of the spotlight this year with a number of angry exchanges. She accused Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra of nepotism in the aftermath of Rajput’s death. She then began to call ‘outsiders’ – those without a movie family background but with successful careers - lackeys. She went on to dissing Padukone, calling her mental health tweets a sham. She then called Chakraborty a gold digger. Ranaut had twitter fights with other celebrities as well including actor-turned politician Urmila Matondkar and Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh. After she picked a fight with a politician and called Mumbai 'Pakistan occupied Kashmir', the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) partially demolished the actress' property in Pali Hill, citing illegal construction. The actor’s battles rage both in and out of court. Keep an eye on Twitter for the updates.

Madhur Bhandarkar and Karan Johar are in the middle of a spat because of ‘The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives’ series, now streaming on Netflix. Filmmaker Bhandarkar accused Johar of appropriating the name and the ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ filmmaker hit back with a denial. Open letters on Twitter followed with threats of legal action.