The Ugliest Controversies Revisited

2023  will go down in the  history of  Indian cinema  as   one  of the  most controversy-ridden years for Filmistan, most of them unnecessary, and irrelevant, though  it didn’t seem so at at the time  of their occurrence.

Looking back, it seemed rather  ominous(and suspicious) that Ranbir Kapoor’s wipe-that-lipstick-off confession from his better-half Alia came  just months before Ranbir’s monstrously  misogynistic  film Animal, which  is to Hindi cinema what Meir Zirchi’s I Spit On Your Grave  was  to American cinema in 1978:  a blatant brazen backlash at  feminism with lines  like, “Your pelvis is large, good to produce babies.”

Don’t try that at home or in public unassisted.

Deepika  Padukone, poor thing, she got some section of the  , shall we say, more alert communities  all lathered up , first  by wearing a saffron coloured bikini in Pathaan(in hindsight, was  it really saffron or  just orange, or maybe saffron-orange?) , and then by  saying on Karan Johar’s show that she was “open” to  other relationship while being committed to Ranveer Singh  during their early days of togetherness.

 Just how anyone , man or woman , remains simultaneously  committed and  “open” in a relationship is something only Deepika can explain. This was  the only controversial episode  of Koffee With Karan this year. Karan maintains he didn’t provoke  anyone this year on his show, as there was  enough of  provocation going on all around him.

By far the  ugliest controversy  of 2023 was the custody/distribution of wealth  battle between  actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui and his wife.Blow by blow, the Missus made  sure all the details  of the  battles in the courtroom  and outside , were  outed.I am not  sure  how this  helped  her cause. But it  most certainly  damaged Nawaz’s career. Producers complained in private(washing  dirty linen in public is not everyone’s scene) that the actor was not  able to  concentrate  on his  career.

To end with two religious  controversies.  Adipurush director Om Raut’s extra-warm hug and kiss for his Sita,  Kriti Sanon on a temple premise and Ranbir Kapoor shouting Jai Mata Di while  cutting a Christmas cake ,generated a lot of heat.

My advice to film folks: do your kissing and chanting in private.