Year Ender 2025: Controversies That Kept Bollywood In Focus

Year Ender 2025: Just like every year, this time too, Bollywood witnessed high-voltage drama off-screen more than on-screen. The year was filled with legal battles, personal safety scares, social media firestorms and cultural debates. From the biggest celebrities to the budding names, the controversies gripped everyone in the industry with equal intensity. Beyond box-office numbers and award shows, here’s a recap of the highly publicised rows that became the talking point this year.

The attack on Saif Ali Khan occurred on January 16 when the accused, Shehzad, allegedly attempting a robbery, broke into the actor’s Bandra residence. During the incident, Khan was severely injured, suffering damage to his thoracic spine and other body parts. The actor was rushed to Lilavati Hospital, where he was treated for five days before being discharged on January 21. The incident sent shockwaves through the industry and spurred a debate on celebrity safety and privacy. Although his injuries were non-fatal, the event highlighted the absence of security protocols in the residences of high-profile individuals. Some tone deaf social media posts about the incident and the paparazzi’s behaviour around the family added to the controversy.

Adding to pay disparity, treatment of women on screen and nepotism, 2025 saw the rise of another debate over the eight-hour workday. It all started with new mother Deepika Padukone’s departure from high-profile projects such as Spirit and the Kalki 2898 AD sequel. Reportedly stemming from demands for an eight-hour workday and creative differences, the dispute sparked widespread industry commentary on work-life balance, gender norms and professional ethics in Bollywood and other film industries. Padukone publicly addressed the issue, emphasising equitable working conditions for women post-parenthood. This has left actors and producers in the industry divided.

Fans erupted when iconic actor Paresh Rawal announced his exit from the much-awaited movie, Hera Pheri 3, after the movie went on the floors. This even led to the actor being served with notice from Akshay Kumar’s production house. Although he later rejoined the project, the drama exposed growing tensions within long-running franchises over compensation and creative direction. There is still no clarity on when the movie will commence. Suniel Shetty played the role of Shyam in Hera Pheri, while Akshay Kumar donned Raju’s character, and Paresh Rawal played Baburao’s role in the movie. The film is directed by Priyadarshan.

Maddock’s Rom-com Bhool Chuk Maaf became embroiled in a legal battle after a producer’s decision to shift from theatrical to OTT disrupted an exclusivity agreement with PVR Inox. The matter escalated to the Bombay High Court, underscoring ongoing tensions between traditional theatrical distribution and streaming platforms. PVR Inox approached the court following Maddock Films’ announcement that the movie would skip its theatrical release due to “heightened security drills across the nation” and go straight to Amazon Prime Video on May 16. The announcement came just a day before the film’s scheduled theatrical release on May 9.

Punjabi-Bollywood star Diljit Dosanjh faced criticism for casting Pakistani actress Hania Aamir in his movie Sardaar Ji 3, sparking social-media debate at a time of heightened national sensitivities following the Pahalgam terror attack. After the massive backlash from the film fraternity, FWICE and social media, the makers of Sardaar Ji 3 announced that they will not release their movie in India. Despite no release in India, the singer and actor continued promoting the film on his social media.

Karisma Kapoor’s ex-husband Sunjay Kapur died at age 53 on June 12, 2025. The couple was married from 2003 to 2016 and shared two children. Sunjay later married Priya Sachdev Kapur. Following his death, an inheritance dispute commenced between actor Karisma Kapoor’s children and their stepmother, Priya Sachdev Kapur. Since his passing, his estate has been the subject of an ongoing legal battle.

The year also exposed the turbulent marriage of Govinda and Sunita Ahuja. Early in the years, there were reports of the couple going through a divorce; however, this was shut down soon. Thereafter, Sunita Ahuja, on various ocassions has hinted at her husband cheating on her; however, she has also confessed to having no evidence of the same. Some reports also alleged that the couple lives seperately.

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Indian cricketer Smriti Mandhana’s wedding with singer Palaash Muchhal was postponed from the scheduled date, November 24, after Mandhana’s father experienced symptoms of a heart attack. This was followed by an Instagram user leaking her alleged chats with Palaash Muchchal, in which he could be seen trying to court her despite being in a relationship with Smriti at the time. This gave rise to several cryptic posts on social media and reports of the composer’s infidelity the night before the wedding. Ultimately, in early December, Smriti and Palaash confirmed that the wedding had been cancelled; however, neither gave a definite reason for the same.

Following the tragic terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22, 2025, which left 26 civilians dead, FWICE and government bodies imposed a blanket ban on all Pakistani artists. This led to Pakistani actor Fawad Khan’s comeback film Abir Gulaal facing a ban in India. With the Aarti S Bagdi directorial Abir Gulaal originally scheduled for a May 9 release, Fawad was poised for a highly-awaited comeback to Bollywood after nine years. Vaani Kapoor faced severe backlash for co-starring with Fawad Khan.

Aryan Khan’s directorial debut with the Netflix series, B***ds Of Bollywood, faced a high-profile legal challenge from former NCB officer Sameer Wankhede, who alleged a defamatory portrayal of a character resembling him. The case sparked extensive debate over creative freedom versus responsibility in fictional works inspired by real figures.  

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Sidharth Malhotra and Janhvi Kapoor starrer Param Sundari released in August this year. The movie faced a massive backlash for the stereotypical representation of Kerala. The actress Janhvi Kapoor also received backlash for her comical accent in the movie. This started a conversation around appropriate casting for roles in Bollywood movies.

The Samay Raina-hosted show India’s Got Latent courted one of the biggest controversies of the year. The row erupted after Ranveer Allahbadia asked a contestant on, “Would you rather watch your parents having s** or join them once and end it forever?”. Multiple police complaints were filed against Allahbadia and other people associated with the show in both Mumbai and Guwahati. There were other controversies relating to the panellist Apoorva Mukhija as well. There was also an issue with the insensitive remarks from the comedian towards persons with special needs. On October 26, Samay Raina took to his Instagram account to finally apologise for the matter.

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