Meet the newsmakers of 2020

With the year about to draw to a close, it’s time to look back at what all made headlines in 2020. The controversies, war of words on Twitter, legal troubles, acts of charity and some unusual incidents, ‘expect the unexpected’ was what this year turned out to be. Here’s a look:

SSR’s mysterious death

This year, we lost many celebrities but the one that shocked the entire nation was the death of Sushant Singh Rajput. The actor was found dead at his Mumbai residence on June 14. After initial reports of SSR committing suicide, various conspiracy theories emerged almost every day. While some said he was murdered, others stated he was pressured into killing himself. Fans started #JusticeForSSR campaign and even went on hunger strike. From the Mumbai Police to Bihar Police to political parties to finally CBI, investigation continued and fans are still waiting for the final verdict.

Drugs in Bollywood

A drug angle was probed while agencies were investigating SSR’s death case, leading to a number of people, including Bollywood stars Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, Rakul Preet Singh, Arjun Rampal, Gabriella Demetriades, producer Firoz Nadiadwala’s wife Shabana Saeed and others, being questioned by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). Sushant’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty was arrested and released on bail after one month of custody. Rhea’s brother, Showik also spent three months in jail. TV actor Preetika Chauhan, former employee of Dharmatic Entertainment - Kshitij Ravi Prasad, comedian Bharti Singh and her husband Haarsh Limbachiyaa were also arrested by the NCB in drugs case.

The OTT circus

Over-the-top (OTT) platforms saw a major boom in 2020 and at the same time, it faced criticism for some of its key projects. MLA Nandkishor Gurjar filed a complaint against Anushka Sharma for producing Paatal Lok while the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa slammed the portrayal of Sikhs in the series. An FIR was filed against Ekta Kapoor for objectionable content, dishonouring the Army, in the web series XXX Season 2. Legal notices were sent to Prakash Jha and Bobby Deol for the controversial depiction of Hindu saints in Aashram. Netflix saw an uproar over a kissing scene in temple premises in A Suitable Boy. And Madhur Bhandarkar accused Karan Johar of stealing his title Bollywood Wives. Meanwhile, a notification was issued in November stating that all OTT platforms will be brought under government regulation.

Stuck in controversy

Cinema halls shut, shoots on hold and celebs down with Covid-19, Bollywood saw its worse phase this year. While all major film releases were pushed to 2021, the ones which were released got stuck in controversy. Title of Akshay Kumar-starrer Laxmmi Bomb was changed to Laxmii after Karni Sena’s objection over the title being ‘derogatory’ and ‘offensive’ to Goddess Laxmi. Janhvi Kapoor’s Gunjan Saxena was called out by the Indian Air Force for the portrayal of male officers being sexist towards female co-pilots. Mahesh Bhatt’s Sadak 2 suffered the brunt of anti-Bollywood and anti-nepotism wave. And recently, Anil Kapoor had to issue an apology to the IAF for ‘inaccurately’ wearing the Air Force uniform in movie AK vs AK.

Clash of titans

Kangana Ranaut remained in the spotlight throughout 2020. She accused Karan Johar of nepotism and Mahesh Bhatt of running movie mafia, which she said resulted in SSR’s death. She called Rhea Chakraborty a gold digger, Urmila Matondkar a ‘soft porn star’, Taapsee Pannu and Swara Bhasker ‘B-grade actresses’, compared Mumbai to ‘Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’ and the latest actor with whom she locked horns over the farmer’s protest was Diljit Dosanjh. Meanwhile, Payal Ghosh unconditionally apologised to Richa Chadha after the latter filed a defamation suit against her. Payal had falsely dragged Richa in a case involving Anurag Kashyap. On the other side, veteran actor Mukesh Khanna attacked Kapil Sharma’s show, calling it ‘vulgar’.

The messiah

Sonu Sood proved to be a messiah for the needy during the Covid-19 crisis. The actor helped migrant workers reach their homes by arranging buses and train tickets and even air lifted many. He gifted a tractor to a poor farmer’s family, paid hospital bills, granted scholarships, provided job opportunities, built houses for poor, gifted e-rickshaws to ones who lost their jobs and even mortgaged his properties to raise funds for the needy. The man with the golden heart has been appointed as the State Icon of Punjab by the Election Commission.

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