The box office record was dismal in 2017 but the stars, or their movies, managed to stir up a controversy almost every month. The Woods looks at five of last year’s biggest controversies. 

Stop Padmavati: Protests during the shoot, Rajput Karni Sena members asking for Deepika Padukone’s nose to be cut, multiple chief ministers speaking about banning the film, and finally an indefinite delay in the film’s release — this Sanjay Leela Bhansali magnum opus starring DP, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor had it all. On the penultimate day of the year came fresh news: The film had been given a U/A certificate — with 29 cuts and a suggestion to change the film’s name to Padmavat. 

No to nepotism: Kangana Ranaut’s first controversy of 2017 —  the actress accusing Karan Johar of being the flag bearer of nepotism on Koffee with Karan. The industry was soon divided but the debate would have died down had it not been for Varun Dhawan and Saif Ali Khan who cracked their “Bole Kangana” joke at the IIFA ceremony.

Simran credits: Controversy No. 2 for Kangana. Apurva Asrani discovered that his writing credit had been shared with the actress when the film’s poster released. Worse, Kangana’s name was placed before his. Bitter social media posts and mudslinging interviews later, the film released. Both the controversy and the filn died at the box office. 

Sleepy Sonu: People woke one early April morning to Sonu Nigam’s tweet, complaining about the high volume of namaz that disturbed his sleep. Fatwas, political speeches and discussion on noise pollution created by various religious practices came out in the open. 

Autobiography excerpts: Nawazuddin Siddiqui is usually in the news for his acting chops, but this time it was excerpts from his autobiography that put the actor in the news. His sexual encounters were made public for the promotions but they were not taken lightly. Niharika Singh and Sunita Rajwar did not mince words as they debunked Nawaz’s version of “love stories” with them. Nawaz ultimately apologised for “hurting the sentiments” and withdrew the book.