From Kangana Ranaut to Priyanka Chopra, list of celebrities who kept the controversy-meter high in 2019
From posting questionable tweets to doling out some unreal comments, celebrities got really controversial this year. While some stars created controversies, simply by the nature of their fame and popularity, a few were the consequence of sheer stupidity or desperation. In 2019, the likes of Kangana Ranaut, Priyanka Chopra, Sandeep Vanga Reddy, Vivek Anand Oberoi, and Anu Malik among others had the entire nation talking about them -- courtesy their antics on- and off- the sets.
We enlist a few:
1. Kangana Ranaut
Kangana Ranaut got riled up during the promotional spree of her last release 'Judgementall Hai Kya'. At a press briefing, she accused a journalist of campaigning against her, and writing mean things about her films.
The entire community of journos then asked for an apology from her. But Kangana is Kangana. She did not apologise. 'Judgementall Hai Kya' producer Ekta Kapoor then had to intervene in the coming days. She apologised to the media, bringing the matter to a close.
2. Rangoli Chandel
Rangoli Chandel
When Kangana is there, Rangoli, her sister, cannot be far behind. Rangoli's fingers have a life of their own, so when she starts tweeting, she goes down the history (waiting to be written in years ahead). She picked a bone with Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar regarding their film 'Saand Ki Aankh'.
“Acting ka A bhi nahin aata & comparing urself to all legends. Bhai ja thodi acting seekh le tacky silver hair & sasta prosthetic won’t make u an actor,wat about body language f a 60 year old? Where is the aged voice?Longing fr gone youth in one’s eyes?Where is acting, So funny!” she wrote on Twitter -- all she meant was when Kangana had refused the movie, these two should have too on the ground of wanting only senior actresses play the role of octogenarian women.
Rangoli also poked fun at Malaika Arora's picture with her son. And 'Gully Boy' crashing out of Oscar race.
3. Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra
A picture of 'Desi Girl' from her birthday celebration on a yacht in Miami went crazy viral. In it, she was seen smoking a cigarette with her mother Madhu Chopra and husband Nick Jonas who were each smoking a cigar. There's nothing wrong in this, you say. But the social media had its own say on the entire matter.
Priyanka Chopra has Asthma, and breathing-related issues. She had shared a video last year, urging people to not burst crackers on Diwali. She said in the clip, "Please meri saans ko berok rakhiye. Diwali pe patakho ko skip kijiye."
So going by the logic, the social media pointed fingers at her. Aaah!
4. Anu Malik
Anu Malik
Sony TV did the unthinkable by inviting Anu Malik again as the judge of the newest season of Indian Idol. Malik had been, in 2018, charged by singers Sona Mohapatra, Neha Bhasin, and Shweta Pandit of sexually harassing them, and it was only sensible of the television channel to not have him as the judge. Indian Idol 11, hence, met with an unprecedented hatred -- as a result of which, Malik was asked to step down.
Anu Malik had even tweeted his explanation before stepping down, but to no avail.
5. Zaira Wasim
Zaira Wasim
Zaira was a young, talented actress till she met with the dichotomy of religion and art. She quit Bollywood and cited "religion" as the reason, inviting ridicule, wrath, surprise and empathy from the country -- in different measures.
6. Vivek Oberoi
Vivek Oberoi
Vivek Anand Oberoi had a mixed 2019. While he was widely appreciated for his performance in 'Inside Edge 2', he was panned for his portrayal of the prime minister in his biopic. He took his controversial avatar (in both forms) a little further by sharing a meme on Twitter that had his ex-girlfriend, her current husband, and her ex-boyfriend in one frame -- depicting the state of India after the general election. He said it was all in good humour, but believe us if you may, it was not.
7. Sunaina Roshan
Sunaina Roshan
The spat in the Roshan family came to light when Hrithik’s sister Sunaina said her family had not allowed her to be in touch with her Muslim boyfriend. Hrithik's nemesis Kangana Ranaut jumped into the family feud, and levied charges on them. Sunaina later reconciled with her family -- all's well that ends well!
8. Karan Johar
Karan Johar
Karan Johar has become synonymous with controversy, so his name cannot be a surprise to anyone. His chat show 'Koffee With Karan', a playground of celeb gossip, became the bone of contention between cricketers KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya, and the entire nation. It so happened that Pandya and Rahul passed some unsavoury comments about women on the show. Phir kya thha...!? The BCCI and the media ridiculed the gentlemen, and Karan Johar had to live with the guilt of being the reason for a two-match ban on the cricketers.
KJo again ran into a controversy when a party at his house was called out by Akali Dal MLA Manjinder S Sirsa as a 'drug party'. It was not, as KJo and others explained, and was proved. And the matter died soon after.
9. Shweta Tiwari
Shweta Tiwari
The original Prerna of the TV industry got into some real trouble in real life. Shweta Tiwari's second marriage, like her first, broke apart -- and the reason cited was domestic abuse.
There was a lot of chatter around what might have happened, and what might have not. But Shweta, being a strong woman, that she is, continued doing good professionally.
10. Sandeep Vanga Reddy
Sandeep V Reddy
This was some real foot-in-the-mouth epiphany. Sandeep Vanga Reddy directed the Hindi version of 'Arjun Reddy' -- 'Kabir Singh', starring Shahid Kapoor as the self-destructive yet brilliant surgeon. And hit the headlines for his comments, rather than his direction.
'Kabir Singh' was widely panned for glorifying toxic masculinity, and when Reddy was asked about this, he non-chalantly said 'slapping each other in a relationship is a mark of true love'. This statement of his met (as expected) with a huge backlash on the social media, worsening 'Kabir Singh's perception amongst the feminists.
The movie, however, went on to earn more than Rs 250 crore at the Box Office.
