Bollywood movies and controversies go hand in hand. In India, sex, politics, nudity, religious sentiments or even an actor’s opinions are always taken into consideration before releasing a film. There have been a lot of movies in the past that have stirred some serious controversies. And now Lipstick Under My Burkha is making headlines. On that note, Here’s a list Bollywood movies that have courted controversies.
1) Fire (1996): This was the first movie to explicitly show a homosexual relation between two women which stirred negative reactions from the audience.
2) Andhi (1975): This movie didn’t have any bold content as such but it was rumoured to be based on the life of Indira Gandhi which was banned during her governance but was lifted later on.
3) Bandit Queen (1994): Based on the life of Dacoit Phoolan Devi, this movie was banned by the Censor Board because of nudity and abusive language. However after its release, it bagged three National Awards.
4) Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978): The movie created controversy due to the semi-nude clothes worn by Zeenat Aman as well as the sex scene between her and lead actor Shashi Kapoor. However, this movie was a major hit and received many awards.
5) Black Friday (2004): The Anurag Kashyap movie was based on the true events of the ’93 blasts in Mumbai. It was banned because the case was still pending in the court. However it got released in many film festivals and got a very good response.
6) Sins (2005): The story revolved around a Catholic priest romantically involved with a young woman. This created an outrage among the Christian community and was banned.
7) Madras Cafe (2013): The movie starring John Abraham was based on the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi by The Tamil Tiger Rebels in Sri Lanka in 1991, which was unacceptable by a few Tamil groups in India who banned the movie.
8) My Name is Khan (2010): While promoting the movie, Shah Rukh Khan made a statement saying that Pakistanis should be allowed to play in IPL. This caused a negative reaction from political party Shiv Sena who threatened the release of the movie.
9) Fanaa (2006): There was nothing controversial in the movie but Amir Khan happened to raise an issue about the Narmada Dam situation around the time of the release of his movie due to which the political party in Gujarat banned the movie.
10) Oh My God (2012): The movie was not taken well by certain Hindus because of the way the honest rituals were portrayed in the movie. Even today, Bollywood movies as well as the people involved in its making get caught up in controversies which put them in the negative limelight.
11) Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016): Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil starring Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, had a controversial angle to it. After the Uri attacks, the members of the COEAI (Cinema Owners Exhibitors Association of India) had decided that no movie starring Pakistani actors would be released in Indian theatres. Pakistani actor Fawad Khan had a pivotal role in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil but most of his scenes were cut off from the film which left the entire team disappointed.
12) Udta Punjab (2016): The film got into a controversy because of its content. The movie spoke about the rampant use of drugs in Punjab. Some felt that it was defaming Punjab while the CFBC wanted to cut out all the references to Punjab as well as the abusive language.
13) Nishabdh (2007): Starring Amitabh Bachchan and Jiah Khan, the movie revolved around how a married man in his sixties fell in love with a teenage girl. The Congress had a problem with the content as they felt it was against Indian values. It was also banned in Allahabad.
14) P.K. (2014): Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma starrer P.K. had become the topic of a social debate as it hurt the sentiments of several religious groups.
15) Parched (2015): A woman centric film, the movie struck a controversy before its release when a leaked clip of Radhika Apte and Adil Hussain's sex scene was being circulated. Radhika Apte was quite upset with it and the filmmakers said that there was much more to the movie.
16) Murder (2004): Mahesh Bhatt's Muder starring Emraan Hashmi and Mallika Sherawat had steamy and bold scenes between the two which surprised the audience.
17) The Dirty Picture (2011): The film spoke about Silk Smitha’s life. It had Vidya Balan play the lead role but it sparked controversies due to two reasons. One was because of its posters and two, because Silk Smitha’s brothers objected to it and also sent notices to the makers.
18) Lipstick Under My Burkha (2017): Lipstick Under My Burkha is the latest movie to have a controversy. Even though the movie received accolades in film festivals and also won the Oxfom Award for Best Film on Gender Equality, the CFBC seemed to have a problem with the bold content of the film which talks about a woman’s fantasy above life and hadn’t certified it. However, the movie is out of this mess and will release on 21st July, 2017.
However, it should be known that movies are made solely for our entertainment and it is a form of art that should be appreciated. Let’s hope to see such days!
More on: Lipstick Under My Burka, Fire, Andhi, Bandit Queen, Black Friday, Sins, Madras Cafe, My Name Is Khan, Fanaa, Oh My God, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Udta Punjab, Nishabdh, PK, Parched, Murder, The Dirty PicturencG1vNJzZmivp6x7p7XLpp2aqpVjsLC5jp%2Bcmqylp7K0e9Oop2abn6PBs7vVnqmsoZGheqO7y6WwsKefmXquu9WinKxlpJ2utXnMmpueZZiarqW4yKecrGViZoZ3fo2hq6ak