The myth of an insular Bollywood was broken this year. In the run up to the decisive General Elections, several films succumbed to active propaganda.
Uri and The Accidental Prime Minister were simultaneously released in Jan. While the former celebrated a military action by the present regime, the latter took to chintzy caricature of the govt beforeManikarnika marked the directorial debut of Kangana Ranaut. The film was initially helmed by Telugu maker Krish Jagarlamudi, who left the project over alleged creative interference.Kangana took over, later claiming to have shot 70 per cent of the film. This was heavily contested by Krish in post-release interviews, and was corroborated by actor Sonu Sood, who had quit the film.After the Feb 14 attack on a military convoy in Jammu and Kashmir, the All Indian Cine Workers Association announced a blanket ban on Pakistani artistes. T-Series unlisted songs by Pakistani musiciansActor Ajay Devgn, whose film Total Dhamaal was on pace for release, announced that the comedy would not open in the neighboring territory.A reverse action of sorts was taken by Pakistan following the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir. A policy was drawn to ban all cultural content from India.A film on the Balakot airstrikes is in the making, produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and directed by Abhishek Kapoor.Stepping in at the last moment, the Election commission stalled the release of Omung Kumar’s biopic on Modi until after the polls, claiming it might disturb the level playing field.The film finally opened in theatres a day after the election results were announced. While the BJP-led NDA govt emerged with a landslide win, the Vivek Oberoi-starrer film was was widely panned.There were two major controversies surrounding Judgmentall Hai Kya. Firstly, the film’s initial title - Mental Hai Kya - was objected to by the Indian Psychiatric Society, saying it was derogatory.Secondly, at a promotional event for the film Kangana engaged in a heated argument with a journalist. The actor accused the reporter of conducting a ‘smear campaign’ against her.The journalist, in response, denied posting about Manikarnika or messaging Kangana personally. He also questioned her for using her position of power to threaten a press member.The issue blew up, resulting in a press boycott against the actor by the Entertainment Journalists Guild . It was met with a legal notice from Kangana’s side, and a court case is presently underway.Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Hindi remake of Arjun Reddy was hotly dissected. Critics slammed Kabir Singh for promoting misogyny. Detractors called out the film for glorifying a destructive protagonist.Fans, meanwhile, called for audience discretion, bringing up analogies to films like Raging Bull and Taxi Driver. The debate continued to flare up after release.In an interview, Sandeep defended the scene where Kabir slaps his girlfriend Preeti. He called it an expression of ‘honest love’. The BO - with a total gross of Rs 370 crore — seemed to agree.The Hindi film industry stood divided over the anti-CAA/NRC unrest. Shah Rukh Khan, an alumnus of Jamia Millia Islamia, and Salman were criticised for their silence.Akshay Kumar clarified his like on a tweet about the protesting Jamia students, claiming he did it ‘by mistake’. Paresh Rawal, Anupam Kher and Vivek Agnihotri tweeted in favour of the act.Ajay Devgn and Kangana Ranaut criticised the use of violence in protests.National Award-winners Vicky Kaushal and Ayushmann Khurrana, who condoned peaceful protests, while deriding instances of violence. Saif, fresh off the success of Sacred Games, remained undecided.Anurag Kashyap returned to Twitter to furiously slam the Modi government. He was joined by Article 15 director Anubhav Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, and actor Sayani Gupta.Other celebrities who tweeted in favour of the protests included Farhan Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Mahesh Bhatt, Priyanka Chopra, Parineeti Chopra, Siddharth, and Swara Bhasker.A protest poem, titled Hum Kagaz Nahi Dikhayenge, was recited online by lyricist-screenwriter Varun Grover.Actor Sushant Singh was reportedly fired from his television show Savdhaan India – India Fights Back for taking part in the protests.