Indian Cinema Industry: 10 Controversies That Grabbed Headlines In 2024

Bhubaneswar: As 2024 is coming to an end, let’s take a look at some of the controversies which kept Bollywood in headlines throughout the year

1. Aishwarya-Abhishek Bachchan Divorce Rumours

Speculation about trouble in Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan’s married life led people to draw conclusions about their possible divorce. At the same time, rumours of Abhishek’s alleged affair with co-star Nimrat Kaur also started doing the rounds. This added fuel to the divorce speculation and kept Aishwarya and Abhishek’s married life in spotlight.

2. Salman Khan Firing Incident

On April 14, two motorbike-borne shooters opened fired outside Salman Khan’s Galaxy Apartments in Bandra, Mumbai. The Mumbai Police claimed that the shooters were hired by Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang. Following this incident, security has been beefed up outside the actor’s residence.

The Lawrence Bishnoi-Salman Khan feud dates back to 1998, when the actor was accused of hunting down a blackbuck, considered sacred by the Bishnoi community.

3. Poonam Pandey Death Controversy

In February, model Poonam Pandey had hoaxed her death to apparently raise awareness about cervical cancer. Initial reports stated that Poonam succumbed to cancer, however later on, the model took to social media to ascertain that she is alive. The false rumours about her death sparked an online controversy and Poonam was slammed for her insensible PR stunt.

4. Kangana Ranaut Slapping Incident

In June this year, security officer Kulwinder Kaur slapped actress-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut at the Chandigarh airport. Kaur said that she was triggered by an old statement made by the actress about the farmer’s protest. Kangana had said, “Farmers had joined the protest for getting ₹100.” Kaur claimed that her mother was also a part of the protest and she was unhappy with remark made by Kangana about the protestors.

5. Shah Rukh Khan Death Threat

In November, a Raipur based lawyer named Mohammad Faizan Khan was accused of sending death threats to the King of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan. According to reports, the lawyer demanded a sum of Rs 50 lakh in his threat. The Mumbai police tracked the lawyer using the phone number, which was used to send the death threat and arrested him.

6. Vikrant Massey’s ‘Retirement’ Announcement

Actor Vikrant Massey had sparked a controversy with his Instagram post which hinted at his retirement from the film industry.

However, the actor later clarified that he was just taking a break from acting to spend some quality time with his family.

7. Alia Bhatt’s ‘Jigra’ Accused Of ‘Fake Collections’

The Alia Bhatt starrer ‘Jigra’ was embroiled in a controversy after Divya Khossla accused the actress of purchasing tickets and faking box-office collections. Divya also accused the ‘Jigra’ makers of plagiarism as the storyline of ‘Jigra’ was similar to her film ‘Savi.’

8. Allu Arjun’s Legal Woos After Sandhya Theatre Stampede

A day before Allu Arjun’s much-awaited movie ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ hit theatres, the actor landed in trouble for a stampede outside Sandhya Theatres in Hyderabad that claimed the life of a 35-year-old woman. The actor was named as an accused in the stampede case, arrested and later released on interim bail. Interrogation and investigation are underway in the case.

9. Nayanthara And Dhanush’s Battle Over A 3-Second Video Clip

Actor-filmmaker Dhanush slapped a Rs 10 crore legal notice to Nayanthara for using a 3-second video clip from his movie ‘Naanum Rowdy Dhaan’ in her Netflix documentary ‘Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairytale.’ However, after allegations and accusations on social media, the actress’ lawyer claimed that the video clips were from Nayanthara’s personal library and has not caused any infringement.

10. Sharmin Segal & Nepotism Backlash

Actor Sharmin Segal received backlash for her portrayal of Alamzeb, one of the key characters in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s debut OTT series, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. She was accused of landing the part due to nepotism, as Sharmin is Bhansali’s niece. The criticism soon escalated into online trolling and reportedly disabled comments on her Instagram account following hate comments.