Akshay Kumar’s Laxmmi Bomb faces controversy, check out 10 other films that have also faced troubles

Bollywood and controversies seem to go hand in hand, especially, in today’s day and age many filmmakers have been facing issues with taking cinematic liberty with projects. However, with egos becoming fragile, the creative process of filmmaking has been suffering and it's not just now, but so has been the case for years. 

Very recently, Akshay Kumar’s Laxmmi Bomb that is slated to release on 9th November has also come under scrutiny. This is the third controversy the film is facing, the very first one was from Sushant Singh Rajput’s fans who were demanding to boycott Bollywood and films of big stars, which reportedly made the makers push the film’s release. After the film’s trailer releasing another controversy that sparked off was that Laxmmi Bomb promoted the concept of ‘love-jihad’. In the film, Akshay Kumar plays a Muslim character named Asif, while Kiara Advani is a Hindu named Priya and the two are shown to have an affair or even getting married in the film which led to this controversy coming up. 

And now the latest controversy the film is embroiled in is that the Hindu Sena has taken objection to the film’s title. They say that the horror-comedy’s title is mocking the Hindu goddess Laxmi. While they have written to the Information and Broadcasting Minister demanding the film’s titled to be changed, they have even asked the Hindu community to boycott the movie if the title is not changed. According to the Hindu Sena, the name of the film is very derogatory and offensive for the goddess of fortune and wealth. And while this is unacceptable to the Hindu community, the usage of the word bomb has also been taken as something to provoke the community. 

Well, this isn’t the first time a Bollywood film has faced an issue like this, here are 10 other films that also landed in trouble… 

1) Article 15

In June 2019, the Ayushmann Khurrana starrer and Anubhav Sinha directed Article 15 was in trouble for showing the Brahmin community in a bad light. Revolving around the Badaun rape case of two Dalit girls by some Brahmin men, irked the community, who claimed that the film has been tweaked to defame them. They demanded a ban on the release and even threatened to burn down theaters if the film was shown. In fact, in UP and Lucknow, some vandalism had also happened at theaters. 

2) Padmaavat

The controversy around Padmaavat was the most severe, not only had the Karni Sena resorted to violence but they also interfered with the film at various levels. Raising an objection to the wrongful portrayal of queen Padmaavati, the Karni Sena slapped Sanjay Leela Bhansali, threatened to cut Deepika Padukone’s nose, and even behead the actor’s of the film. All of these objections and tension around the film not only led to its release being pushed but also led to a change in the title, few scenes being cut from the film, changes in the song Ghoomar and the change in film’s title. 

3) Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi

While Kangana Ranaut's film already faced a credit row with director Krish, it also ran in trouble with the Karni Sena. While an objection was raised n Kangana’s dancing to a song being an insult to the warrior queen, it was Kangana’s statement ‘I am a Rajput and I will destroy them,’ that irked the Rajput Karni Sena who demanded an apology. But Kangana didn’t budge from her stand and the controversy died down with the film’s release. 

4) Bajirao Mastani 

Another Sanjay Leela Bhansali film starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Bajirao Mastani also faced controversy. The 2015 film faced issues from Peshwa Bajirao’s descendants who raised issues over the sets and dances in Malhari and Pinga. Some BJP leaders also raised objections over the portrayal of Peshwa Bajirao 1 and some other aspects of the Peshwa dynasty in the film, after which few scenes from the film were cut. A lot of people also claimed that Sanjay Leela Bhansali has distorted and misrepresented some historical facts. 

5) Mohenjo Daro

The Hrithik Roshan and Pooja Hegde starrer Ashutosh Gowariker directed Mohenjo Daro was also in controversy. The film faced opposition from several historians who claimed that this chapter of history was misrepresented. They also pointed out some technical aspects like costumes, make-up, and set of the film which were not so equipped as shown in the movie. 

6) Lipstick Under My Burkha

This film by Alankrita Srivastava raised many eyebrows purely for its bold content and this was exactly the reason why the film also faced controversy with CBFC. A lot of scenes in the film were objected to by the then CBFC Chief Pahlaj Nihalani and after he demanded lots of cuts in the film, there was lo of brouhaha about freedom of expression, since the movie dealt with the subject of women liberation. Later on, with some extremely bold scenes chopped off and a few minutes of the film reduced, Lipstick Under My Burkha released in the theaters. 

7) Jodhaa Akbar

Some Rajput political outfits had protested against the Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan starrer. They had raised objections to some parts of the film claiming distortion of historical facts and some Rajput organizations had even claimed that Jodha was not married to Akbar but his son Jahangir. Due to all the protests, the film was banned from releasing in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Uttarakhand. 

8) Asoka

The controversy was created around Shah Rukh Khan’s film Asoka in Orissa when a historian named Dr. Munmun Das claimed that Kalinga has been wrongly shown in the film. In fact, an ex-member of the parliament and some other historians had given the Orissa CM a petition demanding for the film to not release in the state until it was screened by a jury panel. 

9) Mangal Pandey: The Rising

Aamir Khan’s film faced controversy when several political organizations demanded a ban on its release. They had objected to the portrayal of the character in the film and had also pointed fingers at director Ketan Mehta for showing the freedom fighter Mangal Pandey’s closeness to a sex worker. In fact, a case was also filed against the movie at the Delhi high court.  

10) The Legend of Bhagat Singh

Ajay Devgn’s film had faced objections from CBFC when they pointed out that certain dialogues in the film were wrong. A due to these wrongly portrayed dialogues lots of scenes were cut from the film. The censor board had also objected to the portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi in the film saying that the father of the nation was shown weak and in poor light. 

Written by Nawaz Kochra