Allu Arjun's arrest, Nayanthara vs Dhanush, Poonam Pandey's death hoax: 10 controversies that rocked showbiz in 2024

From Poonam Pandey, Kangana Ranaut to Allu Arjun, actors and celebrities across industries made headlines for the wrong reasons this year. Some made deliberate attempts to grab attention, while others became a talk of the town at what could have been a highlight of their career. Here is a list of 10 most talked about controversies in 2024 in showbiz:

1. Allu Arjun and the Sandhya Theatre stampede case: Telugu film star Allu Arjun was arrested in connection with the death of a 35-year-old woman during a promotional event of Pushpa 2: The Rule at Hyderabad's Sandhya Theatre earlier this month. While the woman died, her eight-year-old son was seriously injured as fans thronged the theatre to catch a glimpse of the actor, who is currently out on interim bail. The movie, however, has emerged as the biggest hit of the year by earning over Rs 1700 crore at the box office.

2. Poonam Pandey death hoax: In February, Poonam Pandey's team dropped the bombshell news of her 'death' from cervical cancer, which turned out to be fake news, more like a stunt pulled off by the actor-model in what she later said was a tool to spread awareness about the disease. Social media users, some celebrities and others unanimously called out Pandey for using a serious issue for a publicity stunt. Her PR agency issued an apology amid widespread criticism.

3. Hema Committee Report: In August, Malayalam cinema was rocked by the revelations of the expansive Justice Hema Committee report, which detailed instances of widespread and persistent harassment and exploitation of women in the industry. All 17 members of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes executive committee, including its president and senior actor Mohanlal, submitted their resignation amid the growing allegations raised by women against its members. Multiple FIRs were registered against many high-profile personalities, including actors Siddique, Jayasurya, former chairperson of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy Ranjith, and CPI MLA and actor M Mukesh, in the wake of the revelations made in the report.

4. Laapataa Ladies as India's official Oscars entry: The Film Federation of India was criticised in September by a section of social media users after it selected Laapataa Ladies over All We Imagine As Light to represent the country at Oscars 2025. Though both films were critically acclaimed, many believe that All We Imagine As Light, the first Indian film to win the Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival, had a better shot at clinching the elusive best international film Oscar. The all-male FFI jury also received brickbats for their citation about Laapataa Ladies, which is out of the Oscars race.

5. Delay in release of Emergency: This Kangana Ranaut film was delayed multiple times as it didn't receive a clearance from the CBFC for theatrical release. It was mired in controversy after many Sikh organisations accused the makers of misrepresenting the community and getting facts wrong. The movie is now scheduled to be released on January 17. Its lead star and director Ranaut made headlines after she was hit in the face by a constable during a security check at the Chandigarh airport, days after she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh on a BJP ticket. The actor was also pulled up by the party after she made disparaging remarks on the farmers agitation against the now repealed three farm laws.

6. Allegations of black marketing of tickets to Coldplay, Diljit Dosanjh shows: The Enforcement Directorate in October said it detected alleged irregularities after it conducted raids in a money laundering case to probe "black marketing" of tickets for the music concerts by British rock band Coldplay and Punjabi singing star Diljit Dosanjh. Dosanjh also made headlines for calling out different state governments for directing him to avoid singing songs related to alcohol, drugs and violence at his concerts as part of his ongoing Dil-Luminati India Tour 2024.

7. IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack row: This Netflix series kicked up a storm in September when a segment on social media claimed that the show by Anubhav Sinha concealed the real religious identities of the terrorists involved in the 1999 incident. The streamer later included the real and code names of the hijackers depicted in the show after Netflix India's content head, Monika Shergill was summoned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

8. Nayanthara-Dhanush clash: In an open letter, Nayanthara last month called out Dhanush, who produced her 2015 Tamil movie Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, for refusing permission to use footage from their film in her Netflix documentary Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale. She criticised Dhanush for sending a legal notice demanding Rs 10 crore in damages after the trailer of the film was released online. Nayanthara's letter received support from actors, including Shruti Haasan, Parvathy, Aishwarya Rajesh, and Nazriya Nazim, all of whom have worked with Dhanush.

9. Kapil Sharma's alleged racist comments against Atlee: Earlier this month, stand-up comic and host Kapil Sharma was in a soup for allegedly poking fun at Atlee's skin colour during the Jawan director's appearance on Netflix's The Great Indian Kapil Show. Amid backlash, Sharma defended his comments and requested people to not spread hate on social media.

10. Darshan and Renukaswamy murder case: Kannada star Darshan Thoogudeepa was arrested in June for allegedly killing Renukaswamy, his fan, for sending obscene messages to the actor's associate Pavithra Gowda. Darshan, Gowda and seven others were recently granted bail by the Karnataka High Court.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI