Bollywood and controversies go hand in hand. While some movies become huge hits by garnering controversies whereas other out of the box films fall prey to them and don’t go down well with the Censor Board and the audience. Here is the list of some of those movies.
1) Aandhi
This 1975 Gulzar saheb’s film made its way into controversies when the main lead resembled ‘Indira Gandhi’. A film based on politics was released when the country was going through the turmoil of ‘Emergency’.It was banned by Indira Gandhi. However, the ban was lifted when the BJP came in power.
2) Fire
A 1996 Deepa Mehta’s film ‘Fire’ couldn’t go down well with the members of Shiv Sainiks and Bajrang Dal as it was based on ‘lesbianism’.
The film was sent back to the sensors as it was considered inappropriate for the Indian audience.
3) Satyam Shivam Sundaram
The movie ran into controversy for its steamy scenes between Shashi Kapoor and Zeenat Aman. The film was banned but later the ban was lifted and the movie was a huge success.
4) Sins
The movie depicted Shiney Ahuja as a priest having an affair with a young woman. The sensitive nature of the movie led to zero promotion by TV channels. The film angered Roman Catholic organisations who demanded it to be withdrawn from theatres.
5) Fanaa
Aamir Khan is known for his controversial statements, the recent one being on ‘intolerance’. He also made a statement when Fanaa was about to release and raised his voice against the rising height of Narmada Dam. This didn’t go down well with the politicians and
BJP consequently banned not only this movie in Gujarat but also products endorsed by the actor.
6) OMG – Oh My God!
This movie questioned the religious practices and their purposes and ban was demanded by Bajrang Dal and Hindustan Shiv Sena activists.
7) Billu
The movie was earlier named as ‘Billu Barber’ but the ‘Barber’ word was considered to be derogatory and even protests were carried out. Hence, the movie was renamed to ‘Billu’.
8) Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela
Six different petitioners had filed cases against the film’s title which was ‘Ram Leela’ claiming that the name hurt religious sentiments of Hindus. The name was then changed to ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela’ two days before the release.
9) The Dirty Picture
This movie can be called the ‘Baap of Controversial Movies’. We all remember the struggle this movie went through to release. This film was based on the life of Silk Smitha, a south Indian actress known for her erotic roles and films. Her brother filed a petition seeking a ban on the movie and even the posters of the movie were under great speculation.
10) Barfi!
Though the movie was great but it had some scenes copied from Charlie Chaplin’s movies and also ‘The Notebook’. Looks like Anurag Basu took more than required ‘Inspiration’ from Charlie Chaplin.