Bollywood and the media have been at loggerheads since time immemorial. Neither party seems to stand down or budge to make allowances. The industry has often looked down on the media especially since the media casts a critical eye on their lives. Every once in a while, the tug-of-war becomes more complicated.
There have been times that the media has called for a ban of some notable stars. These became known as events in their own right. Here are 5 stars who've to face a media ban in their careers for intriguing reasons.
5 stars who've faced a media ban:
The media reports on all the stars. Bollywood has often picked beef with the media for various reasons from yellow journalism to rumours. Every once in a while though the media are the ones who are offended. Showdowns between stars and the media have been way more common than anybody would like to admit. When that happens, media has boycotted certain stars.
1. Amitabh Bachchan was banned for 15 years
Amitabh Bachchan was banned after 1975 by the media, the ban went on for 15 years. This was one of the strictest and longest bans a star has ever faced and it coincided with some of his biggest hits like Deewar. His family was linked to the Emergency and for censoring the media. The ban wasn't lifted until the 1980s when the actor sat down with the media and resolved the issue.
2. Salman Khan for fighting with photographers
Salman Khan has been known to get angry at the media on occasion. In 2014, at the launch of the song 'Devil' from his movie 'Kick', the photographers requested Khan to pose in a particular spot to which he refused. The refusal led to a fight between the photographer's and Khan's security. The photographers' union then banned the star refusing to cover him or click his pictures. Later that year, Khan invited them to his sister, Arpita's wedding and with the sweet gesture, the issue was resolved.
3. Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor for showing up late
In 2010, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor were to attend a promotional event for a shoe brand. The actors kept the media waiting for hours on end. Finally, when they did walk onto the stage the media stood up and left refusing to cover the event. While Saif apologised to the media, saying that the delay was due to a traffic jam, Kareena was indifferent in her stance. This made the media boycott the event entirely.
4. Shraddha Kapoor for turning down photographers
Shraddha Kapoor in 2014 had seen the success of Ashiqui 2 and Ek Villain back-to-back. The actress would turn her face away from cameras often when she stepped out and refused to be clicked. She would refuse to be clicked at airports too. Once when she attended a reality show as a guest, she made the photographers wait for over 2 hours. The actress' non-cooperative attitude made the photographers boycott her. So much so that at an event with other guests like Siddharth Malhotra, and Riteish Deshmukh, the photographers refused to click a photo as long as Shraddha was on stage. Her father then tried to resolve the misunderstanding and Shraddha sat down to meet the photographers and explain her side, that's when things returned to normal.
5. Kangana Ranaut for insulting a journalist
At a press event promoting her movie Judgemental Hai Kya, actress Kangana Ranaut shared some nasty words with a journalist and insulted him calling journalists 'freeloaders'. After her behaviour, the Entertainment Journalists' Guild banned the star and Kangana sent out a legal notice to them. She went so far to say that she didn't mind the ban since she didn't want to be fodder for the media anyway.
These are 5 instances when the media has taken strong action against Bollywood. Well, Bollywood and the media go hand in hand, helping the other earn their bread and butter. Scuffles and showdowns are bound to take place.
