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Mr dependable Akshay Kumar lived up to his name as well as the new sobriquet Bharat Kumar. Of his three hits two Kesari and Mission Mangal were dripping with patriotic fervor. But the actor with a squeaky clean reputation of being a nice guy grabbed more eyeballs for his “apolitical” interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While his mango question to the PM tickled netizens, his stance on Jamia Millia University students protest made many see red. One enraged twitterati called him spineless and the ever vocal and volatile Anurag Kashyap nodded wholeheartedly.

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The master of delightful monologues Kartik Aaryan had a bitter sweet year. He delivered hits with Luka Chuppi and Pati, Patni Aur Woh. But his marital rape remark evident in the trailer of the remake of the 1978 take on infidelity landed him in a soup. The objectionable dialogue was edited out of the film and viewers decided to forget and forgive. Even though Pati, Patni Aur Woh clashed with historical Panipat, it emerged a clear winner.

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India’s international run was grounded. Gully Boy, the official entry to the Oscars fell out of the race. The much anticipated nomination of Sacred Games and Lust Stories at the International Emmy Awards drew a blank. While Nawazuddin Siddiqui got his moment under the sun as UK UK’s McMafia starring him secured a win.

Oscar glory may have continuously eluded us. But the real silver lining came early on in the year when producer Guneet Monga walked with an Oscar trophy for best documentary short. Produced by Monga and directed by Iranian-American director Rayka Zehtabchi the emphatic win of Period: End of Sentence was significant for more reason than one. For it brought to fore not just Arunachalam Muruganantham, the inventor of low-cost sanitary pad machines but conversation around menstruation.

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A whole lot of the series’ in India may have agreed with those who wanted to petition the remake of the finale of the Game of Thrones. But disappointed or stunned by the scale nothing could take them away from following it. Not only was India the most excited nation among Asia and the fourth in the world, Hotstar streamed its uncensored version especially for its Indian fans.