Bollywood's annus horribilis: 2022 saw Indian stars drowning in controversies, bans and threats

From Ranveer's nudity to Jacqueline's alleged money laundering, here's all that went wrong across the border

As 2022 comes to a close, Bollywood celebrities share their new year resolutions and look back at the memories they’ve made. But this year has been tough on its stars, most of whom have had to deal with moral policing, religious fanaticism and deranged accusations, leading to boycott trends and tanked box office collections.

From Ranveer Singh’s nudity, Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan’s “besharmi (shamelessness),” to Jacqueline Fernandez’s alleged “money laundering,” here’s looking back at all the Bollywood controversies – as compiled by Hindustan Times – that made headlines this year and left a dent in the neighbouring cinema’s international image.

Ranveer Singh ‘hurts women sentiments’

A hot summer in July and Ranveer Singh decided to raise the temperature with a naked photoshoot for the global audience in the Paper magazine. Singh, who’s known for his bold and vibrant fashion choices, presumably thought it would be a great idea to make another statement. And many of his industry colleagues like Vidya Balan, Masaba Gupta, Nakuul Mehta and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap lauded his decision to go bare.

But what he wouldn’t imagine in his wildest dreams, was getting slapped by an FIR, which is exactly what happened. A Mumbai-based NGO filed a complaint against the actor for “hurting the sentiments of women.”

Lalit Sen declares love

Former Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi caught everyone off guard as he declared his love for actor Sushmita Sen along with a bunch of romantic pictures from their Maldives vacation. He called her his “better half” and called their relationship a “new beginning”. He clarified, “Not married – just dating each other, [the prior] will happen one day.”

Sen, however, did not reciprocate the same sentiments, at least not publicly. And a few weeks after she stayed mum about the matter, Lalit also removed his Instagram profile picture with Sen. The two also ranked among the most googled people this year.

Jacqueline Fernandez lands in legal trouble

Jacqueline Fernandez kept popping up in a legal matter this year after being named as an accused in the INR200 crore money laundering case involving conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar.

She continues to appear for questioning in front of the Enforcement Directorate regularly and is not allowed to fly abroad, as per Hindustan Times. According to ED’s earlier chargesheet, she and actor-dancer Nora Fatehi received expensive gifts worth crores from Sukesh. Things became even murkier as Fatehi, who is named as a witness in the case, filed a defamation suit against Fernandez in a Delhi court.

Sajid Khan bags Bigg Boss 16

Housefull director Sajid Khan, among the biggest names on the list of sexual offenders in India, came aboard on the Bigg Boss Season 16 this year, prompting a slew of backlash against the show.

Many actors had accused Khan of demanding sexual favours and molesting them. But he was amongst the first few contestants on the show this year. Despite many raising objections over his participation, the channel did not pay any heed to demands for his eviction. Since Khan continues to remain in the Bigg Boss house, one wonders if he will even go on to win.

Ajay Devgn, Kiccha Sudeep lock horns

South star Kiccha Sudeep in April stated that “Hindi is no more a national language and that Bollywood is struggling, hence they are making pan-India films.” In objection to his statement, Ajay Devgn asked on Twitter in Hindi, “If Hindi is not our national language, then why do you dub your films in Hindi?”

Sudeep retorted saying his statement was taken out of context and asked Devgn if he would have understood his response had he typed it in Kannada. “Don't we too belong to India, sir?” he went on to question.

Lal Singh Chaddha falls prey to cancel culture

Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha was one of the most-awaited films this year but despite positive to mixed reviews, it couldn’t garner the box office numbers it was expected to and #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha is to blame.

The hashtag trended on Twitter around the film’s release, keeping many away from cinemas halls. Some Twitter users circulated Aamir's "India's growing intolerance" statement from 2015 along with his ex-wife Kiran Rao’s earlier statement about leaving the country for the safety of their child. Co-star Kareena Kapoor's old video, in which she said she doesn’t care about trolls, also went viral. And one wonders if all this was a calculated PR move to prevent the movie from doing good.

SRK, Deepika Padukone turn up the heat

Much like Ranveer Singh, Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone turned up the heat this year with their upcoming film’s song Besharam Rang. But for most of India, the temperature became too hot to handle.

Fans of the two couldn’t get enough of the trippy number but a few political leaders raised objection over the saffron bikini donned by Padukone in the song. So much so, that many called for a ban on the film. Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra said the song “has been shot with a dirty mindset”. The head priest of a temple in Ayodhya even threatened to “burn Shah Rukh Khan alive.”