It was an unusually busy year for our B-townies. From tying the knot to having babies, from winning awards and recognition to setting off a storm with their remarks — B-town A-listers notched up quite a few happenings in 2015. We give you the lowdown on who hit the headlines
It was an unusually busy year for our B-townies. From tying the knot to having babies, from winning awards and recognition to setting off a storm with their remarks — B-town A-listers notched up quite a few happenings in 2015. We give you the lowdown on who hit the headlines
The Khans get into the intolerance debate
The “intolerance debate” raged all over the country this year, and the Khans — Shah Rukh and Aamir — found themselves in the midst of it. In an interview, SRK said that there was a culture of “growing intolerance” in the country. Aamir, on the other hand, referred to a conversation that he had had with his wife Kiran, where she had expressed fears about where the country was heading, and that it wouldn’t be a safe place to raise their son Azad. Both Khans were severely criticised for their comments.
Priyanka Chopra for Quantico
In films like Dil Dhadakne Do and Bajirao Mastani, PeeCee may have had to share screen space with her colleagues. But with her new show for ABC, Quantico, the spotlight was solely hers. News of the actress’ deal with a studio in the West had broken in 2014 itself, and we were among the first to report that she would be headlining a TV show in Hollywood. But then again, several B’wood actors have in the past tom-tommed their association with international projects, only to have a less-than-impressive end product. With PeeCee however, the reverse was true. She said a little, but when the trailers of Quantico were released this year, she garnered an instant hailstorm of praises for her her role Alex Parrish. Her show may not be on top of the numbers game, but the actress has certainly won fans abroad — an E! story referred to her as possibly “the most beautiful human being on the planet”. Take a bow, PeeCee!
Deepika’s ‘My Choice’ video
Fresh off her battle against a leading news daily that posted a gallery of her photos with some objectionable remarks regarding her natural assets, it seemed that Deepika Padukone could do no wrong. Later, she was as vocal about her battle with depression and her desire to do work for others suffering from it. But then came the infamous My Choice video she shot with Homi Adajania. It was meant as a declaration of women’s empowerment, but didn’t manage to convey quite that to scores of the video’s viewers. A very vociferous battle on social media commenced, with equal supporters for and against the video. Fortunately, Dippy moved on from the controversy, and soon the focus was back on her big screen projects like Tamasha and Bajirao Mastani, after Piku.
Three weddings!
A million hearts broke when Shahid Kapoor’s shaadi to Delhi lass Mira Rajput was finally confirmed. While rumours of the match had been doing the rounds for a while, photos of the pretty Ms Rajput and published details of the upcoming wedding (the venue for which shifted from Greece to Gurgaon!) forced Sasha’s admirers to confront the reality that the eligible bachelor was no longer so. In July, the two tied the knot, and followed it up a couple of days later with a glitzy reception in Mumbai.
Producer Madhu Mantena exchanged vows with fashion designer Masaba Gupta, while Soha Ali Khan also tied the knot with longtime beau Kunal Khemu in January.
Blame game with Anushka Sharma
When Team India had an unceremonious exit from the Cricket World Cup earlier this year, the backlash against Virat Kohli’s girlfriend Anushka Sharma (who was present in the stands) was swift, and intense. Anushka was made the scapegoat for Virat’s poor showing on the pitch, and the subject of vicious accusations and cruel memes.
Salman Khan’s court case
Few of Salman Khan’s movies have the kinds of twists and turns that his legal troubles in 2015 did. First, the superstar was sentenced to five years imprisonment in his 2002 hit-and-run case by a lower court. But Salman’s lawyers had already extricated him from the situation — an appeal was filed in the High Court and for the moment, the actor was a free man. Then, in a dramatic reversal of the previous judgment, the High Court acquitted Salman in the case. The star can’t breathe easy yet: The Maharastra government has stated its intention of petitioning the Supreme Court. As for Salman, he says he’s ready for the final round in this particular battle.
S.S. Rajamouli for Baahubali
For S.S. Rajamouli, Baahubali was not just a labour of love, it was also a risk. Happily enough, the risk paid off for the director. Baahubali set new standards in VFX for the Indian film industry and quickly crossed several milestones in terms of its box office collections. As for Rajamouli, everyone who was anyone in B-town queued up at his door for a chance to work with him. However, there’ll be a bit of wait in store as the director is already at work on Baahubali 2. He’s hinted that a third installment in the franchise is also possible.
The Padma Vibhushans for Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar
Two legends of the Indian film industry — Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar — received India’s second highest civilian honour this year, the Padma Vibushan. The Bachchan family gathered at Rashtrapati Bhavan for the ceremony where the Big B (who had previously been conferred the Padma Shri in 1984 and the Padma Bhushan in 2001) was presented his award by President Pranab Mukherjee. Dilip saab, who could not make it to the ceremony due to his ill health, received his medal only in December when home minister Rajnath Singh visited his Bandra residence.
Rani Mukerji-Aditya Chopra bring home their baby
“It’s a girl!” was the happy chorus that greeted the announcement that Aditya Chopra and Rani Mukerji had become proud parents, about a year-and-a-half after their hush hush nuptials in 2014. While chacha Uday Chopra tweeted the news first, soon a flurry of well wishers from B-town had added their tweets and Facebook messages to the mix. The baby, as Rani and Adi said in a joint statement, was named “Adira”.
In memoriam: Saeed Jaffrey and Sadhana
The Indian film industry lost two of its gifted veterans this year — Saeed Jaffrey, who passed away in London in November; and Sadhana, who lost her battle against ill health in December. Sadhana had become a virtual recluse over the last several years of her life, but her demise triggered off a wave of nostalgia for the ’60s and ’70s, when she ruled the silver screen.
