The fan-following, its aftermath and the side-effects of being pushed to a corner owing to controversies can happen to anyone, irrespective of how big a star he/she is.
The year gone by, that is 2019, had its share of controversies with respect to the TV fraternity and the big names associated.
The TV industry is never short of controversies and the same was seen in the year 2019.
The year 2019 started with Navjot Singh Sidhu being the first big celebrity affected by the controversy bug. This was followed by TV’s popular actress Shweta Tiwari filing a domestic violence complaint against husband Abhinav Kohli. As the year entered its next big season of Kaun Banega Crorepati helmed by Amitabh Bachchan, an uproar and protest happened to ban the show. And when the time came for the next big season of Indian Idol to start, judge and #MeToo accused Anu Malik faced the same humiliation all over again. And as the year ended, the rapport of already tarnished actors Sidharth Shukla and Rashami Desai took a further beating in the Bigg Boss house as the two of them got involved in never-ending fights.
So having listed the big controversies, let’s talk about them right here.
Navjot Singh Sidhu ousted from The Kapil Sharma Show:
February 2019 saw one of the most ruthless terrorist attacks, with many Indian soldiers losing their lives in the car-bombing in Pulwama. This terror attack put everyone into shock and dismay, and huge reactions poured in, condemning this sinful act. However, former cricketer and politician, Navjot Singh Sidhu got into trouble when he commented regarding the attack.
To take your memory back to Navjot’s alleged quote, “For a handful of people, can you blame the entire nation and can you blame an individual? This attack is a cowardly act and I condemn it firmly. Violence is always deplorable and those who did it must be punished”.
His statements apparently did not go down well with the public and there was immediate furore and backlash from the layman community. This resulted in Sidhu having to withdraw as judge from The Kapil Sharma Show that airs on Sony TV. He was sacked and Archana Puran Singh was brought in to replace him.
Shweta Tiwari lodges a complaint for domestic violence against husband Abhinav Kohli:
The year 2019 was a bad year for popular actress Shweta Tiwari, who got bitten the second time with a failed marriage.
Earlier married to Raja Chaudhary, Shweta divorced him and got married to Abhinav Kohli and was living a blissful life. However, the sudden news of Shweta Tiwari filing a domestic violence case against Abhinav broke all shackles. Shweta apparently reported about Abhinav subjecting her and her daughter Palak Tiwari to domestic violence. The report also stated that Abhinav physically abused Palak. Abhinav was arrested and was later granted bail.
#BoycottKBC – Fans demand a ban on Kaun Banega Crorepati 11:
Kaun Banega Crorepati 11, hosted by Superstar Amitabh Bachchan, has been one of the successful Indian TV shows. The show has made headlines whenever it has been on air. However, this time around, the show got embroiled in a controversy, where, in the episode aired on 6 November 2019, a particular question had an inaccurate reference to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
The infamous question which triggered the controversy was, ‘Which of these rulers was the contemporary of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb?’. And the options provided were – Maharana Pratap, Rana Sangha, Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Shivaji. The disrespect rendered to the great warrior by referring to him as just Shivaji and not as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj gave rise to a huge uproar and havoc on social media. There were parties and people asking for a ban of the much-watched show.
Anu Malik bitten twice, ousted from Indian Idol 11 after #MeToo allegations:
Anu Malik, judge on Indian Idol, must have thought that the past is past and that it will never bite him twice. But he was wrong, when after getting sacked from Indian Idol 10 on being slammed for sexual harassment charges, he got back to judge the singing reality show this year too. However, singer Sona Mohapatra, one of the few to have accused him last year, lashed out at the channel for bringing him back. Social media took to adverse reactions and Anu Malik was forced to step down from the show, and Himesh Reshammiya replaced him.
Sidharth Shukla and Rashami Desai’s dirty fight in the Bigg Boss 13 house:
Dil Se Sil Tak provided the ideal platform for actors Sidharth Shukla and Rashami Desai to showcase their acting skills. However, the Jodi got popular for their off-screen fights and differences more than their performance on the screen. The duo was alleged to be seeing each other and was also reported to have broken up. With them entering the controversial Bigg Boss 13 house, everyone certainly looked forward to a battle royale between them. And they got to see just that. The two of them crossed swords on innumerable occasions and threw their dirty past and present in front of all other contestants and to the people watching them on national television.
Well, we have now entered the new year 2020, and we hope we remember the year more for the best of things to happen and not for the controversies it brings about.
Wish you all a very Happy New Year!!