From Padmaavat to Kedarnath, Bollywood movies which caused public outrage in 2018

Time and again, many Bollywood films have been banned and protested against by people, forcing filmmakers to cut down on their freedom of expression and their independent portrayal through films. But in recent years, the level of protest from some fringe groups and extremist forces have led to the formation of a dirty picture that stains the Bollywood film industry. The year 2018 saw many such oppositions from people who couldn't stand the narration of history on celluloid or the portrayal of women not dependent on men. Here is a list of films which caused the public outrage in the year 2018 -

The start of the year rocked Bollywood with the biggest opposition that any movie has seen in the country. Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial 'Padmaavat' which starred Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor irked the valour of several Rajput groups including Karni Sena, who protested day in and out to oppose the film from releasing in the theaters. Claiming that the film distorted the facts related to Rajput queen Padmavati and portrayed her in a bad light, the fringe groups had vandalized the film sets and issued threats to the director and the actors, which included rewards for their beheaded bodies. The protests went to the lowest level in the history of Indian cinema. Several states had also banned the film, but the Supreme Court had dismissed a petition against its release.

The much-awaited film which saw the debut of Sara Ali Khan was mired in controversies which included promoting love-jihad. The Abhishek Kapoor directorial love story which featured Sushant Singh Rajput and was set against the backdrop of disastrous floods that had almost destroyed the town in 2013. Priests from the Kedarnath shrine have wildly protested against the film, accusing it of promoting love-jihad, as the two lead characters are Hindu and Muslim, who fall in love. The priests also protested against a dance sequence in the film which was shot around the shrine, which they claimed as vulgar. 'Kedarnath' was banned in several districts of Uttarakhand.

Small minded people couldn't stand actress Swara Bhasker masturbating in the Shashanka Ghosh helmed film which starred Sonam Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Shikha Talsania. Swara faced severe backlash for her masturbation scene in 'Veere Di Wedding'. The film also featured several scenes of female swearing, drinking, and casual sex which didn't go down well with some group of audience. All the leading ladies in the movie were quite open about their opinions and were also open on the topic of pre-marital sex. The female characters dominated movie clearly irked out the helming members of male-dominated society who opened their mouth out for slut-shaming the actress and the film.

The Anurag Kashyap directorial venture which featured Vicky Kaushal, Abhishek Bachchan, and Taapsee Pannu courted resent from the members of the Sikh community who had taken objection to few scenes. The film reportedly hurted the religious sentiments of the Sikh Community. Some scenes featuring Abhishek and Taapsee’s characters smoking and another showing Abhishek Bachchan taking off the turban in an objectionable way stirred the anger in some members of the community who filled a petition in the court. The makers of 'Manmarziyaan' had to delete three scenes from the film. Director Anurag Kashyap also had to come forward and apologize.

The much-awaited movie of the year which featured Shah Rukh Khan essaying the role of a dwarf for the first time got mired in controversies when it raised anger from the members of Sikh community for a particular poster and scene in the film. A scene in the film's trailer showed SRK wearing a Kirpan which reportedly hurt the religious sentiments of the Sikh community who wanted those scenes to be removed from the film. A petition was filed against the film in the court and protest was also lodged against the actor and director Aanand L. Rai.

The upcoming Kangana Ranaut film which narrated the life of the Queen of Jhansi Rani Laxmibai has already found itself against several voices even before its release. The film which will hit the screens in January next year has been threatened by Brahmin outfits who claim the film shows an indecent portrayal of Rani Laxmibai who was a Brahmin. The book on which the film is reportedly based had mentioned a romantic relationship between Rani Lakshmibai and British officer Robert Ellis and was banned in some states. The film has all the potential which can again cause a stir like what Padmaavat caused at the beginning of this year.