We all witnessed how Bollywood made a huge comeback last year with a long list of box-office blockbusters. However, at the end of 2023, a new controversial movie, Animal, was added to the list. Despite all the success and profit Animal had, it faced a lot of criticism across the country for its toxic masculinity and glorification of violation.
Let’s explore some of the most controversial Bollywood movies over the years, receiving criticism for various reasons, such as political pressure, hurting religion & cast sentiments, nudity, and many more.
Animal (2023):
As we mentioned above, the Ranbir Kapoor starrer Animal directed by Sandeep Reddy Venga faced criticism from every corner of the country. It was in the headlines for its content, and critics say that its poor portrayal of women, misogyny, toxic masculinity, and glorification of violation could affect society badly.
Fans also highlighted the fact after an entertaining first half, Animal proves to be a disturbing film in the end. On the other hand, the success of Animal also highlighted another trend in Indian cinema, where a certain brand of cinema, pandering to a pan-India audience, tends to portray its male protagonists as the flag bearers of masculinity.
Aandhi (1975):
Aandhi is known as one of the few movies that was indulged in controversy back in the day. The industry’s two biggest names were associated with Aandhi. Sanjeev Kumar was in the lead role and it was directed by legendary lyricist Gulzar. You will be surprised to know that these two had nothing to do with the controversy, it was the lead female role that created all the buzz.
Suchitra Sen, who has done that particular role, her character was said to have a striking resemblance to Mrs. Gandhi. From the saree she wore to the make-up with gray hair to her walking style and speech delivery, it is said Suchitra looked almost similar to the former Prime Minister.
The film was banned initially because the main character had a few scenes of smoking and alcohol consumption; interestingly, the ban was later removed after Inder Kumar Guajaral, who was then the Information and Broadcasting minister, was convinced by the movie and gave a clean chit saying the movie draws no parallels with the life of Mrs. Gandhi. Later, Aandhi proved to be a super hit.
Bandit Queen (1994):
The star cast and plot of this movie very easily shock you; Shekhar Kapoor’s movie was criticized for abusive language, sexual content, and nudity.
The movie was based on the life of Phoolan Devi from Mala Sen’s book “India’s Bandit Queen: The True Story of Phoolan Devi.” Phoolan Devi didn’t like the way she was portrayed in the film and tried to get it banned in India. She even threatened to set herself on fire outside a theater if it wasn’t withdrawn. In the end, she withdrew her objection after getting paid.
Seema Biswas portrayed the role of Phoolan Devi in the film, while the esteemed Manoj Bajpayee took on the character of Maan Singh. Despite the controversies surrounding it, “Bandit Queen” won many prestigeous awards as well including national film award.
Black Friday (2007):
Anurag Kashyap’s movie was inspired by the 1993 Mumbai blast and a cinematic adaptation of S Hussain Zaidi’s book about these blasts.
Black Friday was not released in the theatre for almost two years, on the eve of its release in 2004, a petition seeking a stay was filed by the people named in the film.
Since the verdict was still pending for the 1993 case, they argued that the film would bias public opinion against them and affect the court’s decision, an argument that was ultimately upheld by the court. Black Friday was released after two years, eventually in 2007.
This critically acclaimed creation of Anurag Kashyap includes a few popular cast members such as Kay Kay Menon, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Imtiaz Ali (a Famous Director). Black Friday also has an impressive rating from IMDB of 8.4.
Padmaavat (2018):
Padmaavat faced one of the biggest criticisms and hatred in recent history. It had the three biggest names in its star cast: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, and Shahid Kapoor. The film “Padmaavat” is an adaptation of the epic poem “Padmavat” written by Malik Muhammad Jayasi. Legendary director Sanjay Leela Bhansali faced huge controversy because of Rajput Rani Padmavati’s character.
The movie got into controversies during its production stage itself. Several Rajput caste organizations, including Karni Sena and its members, protested and later vandalized the film sets. They had also assaulted Bhansali on a film set. Leading up to the release of the film, there were violent protests and riots in various parts of India. Bhansali and Deepika had received threats of violence and death.
Despite all the controversies, Padmaavat was a huge success, and it collected a gross amount of 571.98 core; at the 64th Filmfare Awards, Padmaavat won Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress awards, and it also won 3 National Films Awards.
