The year 2020 was expected to be a year full of successful blockbusters, adaptations of novel stories, and ambitious debuts but it turned about to a really bad year for the Bollywood industry as the covid-19 pandemic led to cinema halls temporarily shutting, movie releases delaying, and projects stalling. There were some incidents that happened this year that rocked the Bollywood industry. Most of them ended up dividing the Bollywood industry into two groups. The damage year 2020 caused can’t be averted. Here is the list of top controversies that rocked Bollywood in 2020.
1. Deepika’s JNU visit: At the beginning of 2020, Deepika paid a visit at the Jawarharlal Nehru University to stand in solidarity with the students, who were protesting against the violence. At that time Deepika’s Chhapak was about to make its debut and some appreciated this bold move of Deepika while others called it a publicity stunt and urged people to not watch the movie.
Controversies with Paatal Lok.: Paatal Lok, one of the most lauded series of 2020, faced many controversies. Some of them were like, MLA Nandkishor Gurjar filed a complaint against producer Anushka Sharma for using his picture in the show without his permission. The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa expressed his concern about the portrayal of Sikhs in the series.
The aftermath of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death: The whole of Bollywood was in shock when actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai flat on June 14. While the CBI was investigating the case soon, the drug angle came into the story. Not just Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Show Chakraborty were arrested, several A-listers of the industry were also linked to the Bollywood drugs nexus case. The list included Sara Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Arjun Rampal, Gabriella Demetriades, Karan Johar, etc., and these celebs were summoned by the NCB for interrogation. The investigation is still on in the case.
Jaya Bachan and Ravi Kishen’s Argument in Parliament over a drug addiction: Apart from the new generation of Bollywood actors that were engaged in word war on social media, some senior members of Bollywood including Jaya Bachan and Ravi Kishan got into the argument over drug addiction. It so happened that the Bhojpuri actor lauded NCB's investigation work 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. The actress said she was very embarrassed after listening to Ravi’s remarks.
Sonu Nigam vs T-series: Another fight happened in the Bollywood industry when Sonu Nigam accused Bhushan Kumar of running a mafia gang in Bollywood. In response, Divya Khosla Kumar of T-Series released a video that further sparked the row.
6. Laxmmi title change: Fans were really excited when Raghava Lawrence announced that he is going to make a Hindi remake of Kanchana with Akshay Kumar in lead, but things didn’t go that way as many internet users claimed that the film's name disrespects Goddess Laxmi and the title hurts the religious sentiments of Hindus. The makers then changed the film's title to Laxmmi. Things didn’t end there, later Akshay was accused of promoting love jihad.
7. FIR against A suitable Boy: Amongst the many things that offended people was also a kissing scene from A Suitable Boy streaming on Netflix. The said scene, shown in a temple complex, featured the characters of a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy, essayed by Tanya Maniktala and Danesh Razvi. An FIR was filed against the makers and the streaming platform by a BJP youth leader.
