Bollywood celebrities caught in controversies

Akshay Kumar has found himself in an unexpected controversy as Twitter noticed his deleted 2012 tweet on price rise and questioned the actor for taking such a step. It's no secret that the rapid petrol and diesel price hike has left the common man in lurch. And in such trouble times, Akshay Kumar's deleted tweet criticising the government during similar price rise in 2012 has fuelled a controversy on the social media. For the record, the actor had tweeted in 2012, "Guys, I think it's time to clean up your bicyles and hit the road! As per sources, expecting another price hike...". Not only this, the Twitterati is questioning the silence of several other celebs who had then spoken against the same.

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan received some respite in the form of a stay order by Rajasthan High Court. The Rajasthan top court stayed police investigations against him for allegedly making casteist remarks during an appearance on a television show. According to reports, an FIR was filed in Jodhpur district on March 5, by a 42-year-old Naresh Kandara against Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty for allegedly using the word ‘Bhangi’ in a derogatory way and hurting the sentiments of Valmiki community. Salman allegedly made the derogatory remark during the promotions of his last release ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ in December 2017.

Along with interim relief to Sallu, the HC issued notices to the complainant and the state government seeking a reply within three weeks reportedly. Salman Khan’s counsel Mahesh Bora was quoted saying that they told the court that Salman did not use abusive language about a particular community, but commented on his own dancing skills. Bora also reportedly mentioned that prima facie no case was made out against the superstar.

Yami Gautam will be starring along with Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor in ‘Batti Gul Meter Chalu’ after the makers’ long search for the female leads. However, not all is well amid the team. According to a report, Yami had a fallout with co-producer Divya Khosla Kumar during the promotions of ‘Sanam Re’ and now the latter is not happy with fellow producer Prernaa Arora and director Shree Narayan Singh’s keenness for her. The situation is such that the makers now want Yami to apologise to Divya to make things even but the actress is in no mood to say sorry as she feels it wasn’t her fault. Now how will they go ahead with the making of the film remains to be known. The film is set to go on floors on February 9.

Even before the official launch of actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s biography ‘An Ordinary Life: A Memoir’, the excerpts from the book are creating a furore. Not only this, Nawaz may now land in legal trouble as ‘Miss Lovely’ actress Niharika Singh has accused him of revealing intimate details of their affair without her consent. According to reports, the actress has got a complaint registered at the National Commission for Women (NCW) in Delhi for outraging her modesty. The actress has allegedly claimed that she was not aware of his marriage at the time of the affair and has approached the NCW to give direction for the registration of FIR under sections 376 (rape), 497 (adultery) and 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman) of IPC.

Shruti Seth takes on PM Modi's government again

Shruti Seth is at it again. Not one to fear the backlash on social media, Shruti is know to voice her opinions on Twitter. In a fresh incident, while responding to a query made by a tweeter, the actress said that she would not do a government advertisement, if offered one. For the uninitiated, Shruti was trolled about two months ago after she urged PM Modi to be 'more than a photograph' in response to his endorsement of the #SelfieWithDaughter hashtag. In her latest tweet aimed at the government, Shruti has questioned the priorities of the government as it was revealed in an RTI query that Rs 15 crore was spent for Yoga Day messages.

While Shruti is not new to controversies, read on to know what Radhika Apte had revealed about the South film industry...

In an interview with CNN IBN, actress Radhika Apte, who has acted in regional films apart from Bollywood, criticised the Telugu film industry for being 'patriarchal' and 'male chauvinist'. The actress stated in her interview that she had struggled the most with the Telugu film industry and that she does not wish to make any more movies there. She also commented on how the actresses were not treated well in the film industry.

While Radhika made this rather controversial revelation about the Telugu film industry, read further to know how Shruti Haasan was mired in another controversy with a production house...

According to a report on Indiaglitz.com, actress Shruti Hassan has denied receiving any order which restricts her from signing a new film. Her spokesperson has been quoted in the report as saying that Shruti or Rajkamal Films International or her team hasn't received any legal notice from anyone. It should be noted that Picture House Media Ltd had claimed to have initiated criminal and civil proceedings against the actress, as she had apparently opted out after signing the agreement and sorting out the dates. Shruti was also accused of being unethical and unprofessional which allegedly resulted in Picture House Media Ltd incurring financial and reputation loss.

While Shruti Haasan has denied being served with a legal notice yet, the actress couldn't shrug off the controversy. Actors often find themselves in news for all the wrong reasons. Read on to find out how Kareena Kapoor Khan reacted to the reports stating that her husband, Saif Ali Khan might be stripped of the Padma Shri Award...

Choreographer Geeta Kapoor, who recently got entangled in an accident case and was arrested for the same, says that the accident was unintentional and she's glad that whoever got injured is taken care of.

"I think the Mumbai Police did their job really well. They have given their statement and I think you should believe that, because that's what happened. They are trying to get rest of the clarification. Everyone feels bad, nobody does anything intentionally or purposely. I think when mistakes happen or accidents occur, they are accidents. This is not something that you want to happen. I am glad that whoever is injured in the incident is taken care well," said Geeta.

When asked, if she feels guilty about the incident, she said, "If I would not have taken care of that person, then I would have had a guilt feeling. Whatever happened was unintentional and I feel everyone has been very kind. Especially the family, police and the media."

Geeta feels sorry about the incident and says it was a 'split second' decision. "The lesson that I have learnt is that whether it is 4:30 in the morning and you think there will be nobody on the road, there might be somebody and he might come in front of your car. There was someone in front of me in a car who braked hard and I had only two options - either turn to the left to save the car which was in front of me, or to the right where people were sleeping on the pavement. I took the car to the right where people were sleeping on the pavement realising that the divider would stop the car, but it didn't. I took that decision in a split second and I am sorry about that," said Geeta, who will be seen judging Dance India Dance Super Moms.

Read on to know how Saif Ali Khan stirred a controversy with his prestigious Padma Shri Award...

According to a report on Indiatoday.in, Centre is contemplating over its decision to take back Saif Ali Khan's Padma Shri Award. Union Home Ministry has asked the Mumbai Police to expedite the process of sending a report on the alleged brawl that involved Padma Shri awardee, Saif Ali Khan. The process has been pending since the past seven months. The report was sought after an RTI activist demanded that the chote nawab be stripped off the coveted civic honour in the wake of the reported framing of charges against the actor by a Mumbai court.

However, this is not the first time that Saif Ali Khan has been embroiled in controversies. Read on to know why he stood up against 'love jihad'...

According to a report on Hindustantimes.com, Saif Ali Khan recently stood up for wife Kareena Kapoor Khan against VHP's women's wing for using her image for their 'love jihad' campaign on the cover of a magazine. The report quoted Saif as saying that people say Kareena has converted, but she has not. He went on to say that instead of making Kareena a target of some religious controversy, she should be treated with respect for the good things she has done for the nation in the form of her contribution to cinema and society and her work for women's rights and health, the report further stated. Regretting all that is spoken about 'love jihad', Saif said that Kareena should be celebrated as a symbol of a strong modern individual. He also urged the people to question the character, wisdom and intellect of such groups before giving them any significance, the report concluded.

According to reports, Kareena had beefed up security following threats related to 'love jihad'. Read on to know more...

According to a report on Mid-day.com, Kareena Kapoor Khan apparently hired personal bodyguards following threats from religious groups. A morphed picture of Kareena Kapoor was published by Vishwa Hindu Parishad's (VHP) young women's wing Durga Vahini on their magazine cover as a warning against 'love jihad'. The report stated that according to sources, Kareena has hired two bodyguards besides tightening the security at her Bandra residence. The morphed photograph shows Kareena's face half covered with a niqab, and the other half with a bindi and sindoor. The Mid-day report quoted a source saying that Kareena is concerned about her safety after the love-jihad debate, and she never felt the need to be escorted until now. However the tabloid's other source close to the actress clarified that it's just a precautionary measure and there was no such threat to her life.

Read on to know more about the issue...

According to a report on Ndtv.com, VHP had said that Kareena Kapoor Khan can sue if she has objections to her morphed photo that has been used by the women's wing of the organization to warn against 'love jihad.' "If actress Kareena Kapoor has a problem with this, the doors of Court are always open for her," the report quoted Prakash Sharma of VHP, attributing the comment to news agency ANI. The picture of Kareena, which was doing the rounds on Twitter, showed the face of Kareena, half covered with a niqab, and the other half obscuring a bindi on her forehead and sindoor in her hair. According to a Pinkvilla.com report, at a promotional event of Tevar, Arjun Kapoor had said that people of India have a right to an opinion as India is a democratic country, adding that one cannot enforce anything on anyone. He said that Kareena has been allowed to sue them if she likes, is what he read, states the report. (Image courtesy: Zoom TV's Twitter account)

A veteran actress had lodged a complaint against her husband accusing him of harassment and assault. Read on to know more...

According to a report on Bollywooddhamaka.in, veteran actress Rati Agnihotri was spotted at the Worli police station. The actress was allegedly filing a complaint against her husband on charges of harassment, torture and assault.Reportedly the couple had a happy marriage so far with no major instances of differences that were reported. However, seems that a fight went out of hand and Rati was compelled to file a complaint.

While yesteryear actress, Rati has always been away from controversies, read on to find out about an actor who is often embroiled in some...

According to a report on Mid-day.com, Aditya Pancholi, who was produced in a holiday court following his brawl at a pub, was a complete entertainer in the courtroom. The report stated that Aditya Pancholi shouted 'Ganpati bappa Morya' and also sang several songs while he was there. The Mid-day report also stated that Aditya Pancholi took a dig at the lawyers and journalists present there. However, all of this happened in the absence of the judge.

Read on to know why Aditya Pancholi was arrested and produced in the court...

According to a report, Aditya Pancholi was arrested by the Santacruz police early on Sunday (March 8, 2015) on charges of assaulting a bouncer at a Juhu based hotel. Apparently, the incident took place around 12:30 am when Pancholi was at Sea Princess Hotel's pub. The report further mentioned police officials saying that the actor took objection to English songs being played at the pub and asked for Hindi songs to be played, which led to an altercation. The report also quoted senior inspector from Santacruz police station saying that Aditya hit the bouncer who was escorting him out of the pub with a mobile phone and even four colleagues of the bouncer. Reportedly, the bouncer sustained five stitches on the head while Pancholi was taken to the police station and booked on charges of assault under relevant provisions of the IPC. The report also mentioned officials stating that the actor was sloshed.


Later, at around 12.30 pm, the actor was produced before a holiday court which sent him in judicial custody till March 20. Pancholi later applied for bail and was released on a bail of Rs 50000 cash, even as the court asked him to surrender his mobile phone used in the crime, the report concluded. Reportedly, Pancholi also shouted slogans in the courtroom and poked fun at lawyers before the magistrate entered.


While Aditya Pancholi has been released on bail, read further to know what controversy Pooja Misraa was embroiled in...

As per a report on Bollywoodmantra.com, controversy's favourite child, Pooja Misraa, is at it again. Pooja Misraa Productions claimed that Farah Khan's recent show, Farah Ki Daawat, was originally the actress' concept and Colors has stolen it from her. She has served a legal notice to Colors. The legal notice says that the concept was originally hers and Colors has stolen it from her. The notice further states that one of the sponsors of the show had also contacted Pooja Misraa earlier to talk about the show.

But Pooja Misraa is not the only celebrity to have courted a string of controversies. Here's taking a look at other Bollywood celebrities who found themselves embroiled in some...

According to a report, an RTO officer, who was a witness in the 2002 alleged hit-and-run case involving actor Salman Khan, denied that he fabricated evidence or had mislead the court. The witness had told the court conducting the trial that the accused did not have a licence at the time of the incident and that he had procured the licence only in 2004, the report stated. The defence will continue the cross-examination of a chemical analyst who had conducted the blood alcohol test on Khan, the report further stated.

It was earlier indicated that the 6ml blood sample of Salman Khan that was extracted for examination was not properly preserved, and it may have fermented to produce alcohol. Read on to know more...

According to a Mumbai Mirror report, during cross examination on January 27, 2015, in Salman Khan's hit-and-run case, expert witness Dr Suhas Pawar indicated that the 6ml blood sample that he had extracted was not properly preserved, and it may have fermented to produce alcohol. The doctor said to Mirror that he had extracted 6ml of blood and put 3ml each in test tubes before sealing them. One of these test tubes had preservatives while the other one was empty. The defence led by advocate Shrikant Shivde then asked him if the absence of preservative would lead to fermentation of blood and production of alcohol, to which he replied in the affirmative, the report stated. The doctor also said that keeping the blood sample without refrigeration within two days may lead to decomposition. The report further stated that the witness will continue to be cross examined on January 31.


Earlier the doctor had revealed to Mirror that Salman was not under the influence of alcohol. Read further to know more...

According to a Mumbai Mirror report, a doctor told a local court that Salman Khan smelt of alcohol when he was brought for a blood test soon after the incident, though during clinical examination, it appeared he was not under the influence of liquor. "The patient's (Salman) pupils were slightly dilated, speech was coherent and walking steps were normal during clinical examination," Dr Suhas Pawar told Special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat, the Mirror report stated. According to police, Khan's car had rammed into a roadside shop in Bandra killing one person and injuring four others. The report further states that Pawar told the court he had observed that the actor was smelling of alcohol, but concluded in his report that based on other criteria like coherence of speech, gait and dilation of pupils, he was not under the influence of alcohol. The chemical analyser later testified that the quantity of alcohol in Salman's blood was twice the permissible limit, the report said.

According to a report on Mid-day, Aditya Pancholi had one off day on the sets of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Bajirao Mastani. Apparently, the actor who plays a negative role in the periodic drama, walked in late for the day's shoot and that too carrying a bad temper, the report stated. Thereafter, he misbehaved with a few crew members and had to be stopped by some of the other workers of the unit, the report further mentioned. Moreover, to maintain peace on the sets, Aditya was asked to take the day off and was sent back home. He arrived next morning in a much better shape and even apologized for his behaviour, the report concluded.

Radhika Apte, of Rakht Charitra fame, hit headlines after some nude pictures (allegedly Radhika's pictures) started doing the rounds on the internet. Brushing the topic off Radhika tweeted, “You guys! If you’re going to get someone to pass off as naked me, she needs to look a lot more like me.” [sic] But the twist in tale is that this tweet was posted about 4-5 days before her pictures went viral. According to a report on Greatandhra.com, it was reported that the leak was a publicity stunt by Radhika in order to promote her upcoming release, Badlapur, co-starring Varun Dhawan. It is also said that Radhika posted the tweet to drive attention towards her leaked pictures which later went viral after the post.

According to a report on Pinkvilla.com, Bollywood actress Mahima Choudhary, of Pardes fame, features on the list of foreign accounts where black money was stashed. The revelation came from a special investigation team that was appointed by the Supreme Court for the recovery of black money. Mahima, who had an account under her real name Ritu Choudhary, was noted as a 'model and an actress' in the account details, the report stated. However, Mahima denied having knowledge of any such account, the report further stated. Meanwhile, this news has taken Twitter by storm where the Mahima-Swiss jokes are doing the rounds. The report also mentioned that the team, which had a look at 628 such account holders, decided that '427' cases were 'actionable.'

According to a report on Dnaindia.com, John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan will be taking Akshay’s place in Hera Pheri 3. The Baby actor demanded a whopping Rs 50 crore to be part of the film, the report states, adding that the makers couldn’t meet Akshay’s proposal and therefore he opted out of the project. On the contrary, during a recent media interaction Akki had said that he was never approached for Hera Pheri 3. Apparently, Akshay had another film lined up after Baby and they wanted to start shooting early. That was the reason for the dates not working out, the report concluded.

According to a DNA report, Mumbai's Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria has admitted that allowing rape-accused Ankit Tiwari to perform at the Umang festival was a mistake. The Commissioner of Police has been quoted in the report as saying that it was a mistake that happened inadvertently. He has reportedly said that the event was organised by event organisers and despite instructions to not include any controversial names, playback singer Ankit Tiwari performed on stage. However, he has also been quoted as saying that the singer's performance was interrupted when they realised their mistake. The singer was arrested last May for allegedly raping his girlfriend on several occasions, after promising to marry her. His brother had also been arrested for allegedly threatening the victim with dire consequences if she made the sexual assault public. Ankit was booked under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, while his brother was charged with criminal intimidation. Both are currently out on bail.

According to a Mumbai Mirror report, Jacqueline Fernandez has spoken in support of Salman Khan after his controversial Sri Lanka visit during which he campaigned for the country's incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and was branded a 'traitor' by Tamil leader Vaiko in India. Pictures of Salman Khan and his Kick leading lady, Jacqueline with Mahinda Rajapaksa went viral online. Across the border this was seen as a last-ditch effort by the President to boost his prospects in the upcoming elections scheduled for January 8, states the report. Inviting the ire of Tamil parties, DMK and MDMK, Salman was dubbed as a “betrayer“ and a “traitor“ following the 'special appearance,' the report further states. Talking up for the actor, Jacqueline said that it was she who insisted that Salman extend the efforts of his Being Human charity to parts of her home country too, states Mirror. The report quoted Jacqueline as saying, “That was the main purpose of this visit. Salman donated 200 lenses to facilitate cataract operations in certain under-privileged areas.He also donated money. It bothers me that people can't see the good in any initiative. All they want to do is identify an ulterior agenda behind every good cause," According to the report, when asked further about the campaign, Jacqueline retorted, “Salman is an individual in his own right who knows both Rajapaksa and his son Namal well. If he wants to drum up support for Rajapaksa that's his choice and nobody can question it."

Gossip mongers got a lot to discuss when Jaya Bachchan recently tagged her son Abhishek Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan-starrer blockbuster Happy New Year a nonsensical film. To add to this, a recent article in Asian Age says that Shah Rukh Khan retorted to Jaya Bachchan's comment saying that even Amitabh Bachchan's cult film Amar Akbar Anthony was considered a nonsensical film at that time.
Bachchans and Shah Rukh Khan have always shared a great bonding and Jaya considers SRK as her son. Jaya is known to speak her mind and according to the article in Asian Age, Jaya Bachchan had expressed her opinion about Happy New Year personally to Shah Rukh as well. To this, he coolly reminded her that Mr Bachchan's Amar Akbar Anthony was also considered nonsensical in its time. There is no ill will between them over this comment, the article further states.
But apart from this drama, there were also reports in media saying that Mr Bachchan has sent a text message to King Khan apologising for Jaya's comment. However industry insiders who closely know Shah Rukh Khan and the Bachchan family say that nothing of this sort has happened and things are unnecessarily being blown out of proportion.

Swastika Mukherjee, who is all set to make her Bollywood debut opposite Sushant Singh Rajput in Detective Byomkesh Bakshi, was recently accused of shoplifting at a boutique shop in Singapore. According to a report in mid-day, Swastika was in Singapore to attend Darpan Film Festival along with her boyfriend Suman Mukherjee and she allegedly lifted earrings worth US$225 from a boutique. Her film's director Dibakar Banerjee does not feel that the controversy will mar the prospects of his film. He is confident about Detective Byomkesh Bakshi and is in fact worried about Swastika’s reputation. He feels it is a very unfortunate incident and is concerned about the actress. Dibakar Banerjee says, “I don’t think anything can go against the film. So I don’t think we should think about that. Rather, we should worry about the incident and the reputation of the actor. This incident is unfortunate and I hope it gets resolved amicably as soon as possible.”