Just like Bollywood, television celebs are also vulnerable to controversies. The year 2017 saw several TV stars or shows getting embroiled in controversies. Many even got mercilessly trolled on social media.
Take a look at some of the moments which were the most controversial and made headlines in the telly world.
TV Recap 2017: Karan Mehra, Disha Vakani and others who became parents
Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover's mid-air fight:
In March, Kapil in an inebriated state hurled abuses and physically assaulted co-star Sunil on a flight from Australia. Despite Kapil's multiple apologies to Sunil, the latter decided to quit the show and choose his dignity over the relationship. He has had been doing live performances and guest appearances on other shows till date. Sunil's absence affected The Kapil Sharma Show as it witnessed a drastic drop in ratings. This was followed by Kapil's failing health and with several cast members quitting the show, it eventually resulted in the show going off air.
Pehredaar Piya Ki:
Sony TV's Pehredaar Piya Ki received severe backlash from viewers followed by a petition signed by over 1 lakh people demanding a ban on show for its regressive and cringy content, where nine-year-old Ratan Singh (Afaan Khan) marries an 18-year-old Diya (Tejaswi Prakash). The serial had shown it all, from the kid's adult conversations with the grown-up girl to the newlyweds being forced to spend their first night together and planning their honeymoon.
Union Minister of Textiles and Information and Broadcasting (I&B), Smriti Irani – to whom the petition was addressed to – asked Sony TV to stop airing the show. This was possibly the first time in the history of Indian television that a show had been asked to go off air by the I&B Ministry.
Months after the show went off air, the makers came up with a revamped version of the show titled Rishta Likhenge Hum Naya.
Akshay Kumar-Mallika Dua controversy:
On October 25, Mallika Dua's father and renowned journalist Vinod Dua lashed out at Akshay Kumar for making insensitive comments towards his coworkers on The Great Indian Laughter Challenge show.
It all started when Mallika Dua, Zakir Khan and Hussain Dalal, who were the judges on the stand-up comedy reality show, were shown the door by the makers due to low TRP numbers.
According to Mid-Day, the decision was apparently taken after consulting Akshay Kumar who gave his nod to the makers to go ahead with it. While the entire incident didn't really go down well with the mentors, it gave rise to a new controversy that landed the Khiladi Kumar in hot water.
Vinod Dua expressed his outrage against Akshay by sharing a video clip from one of the episodes on Facebook where the actor can be clearly heard passing lewd remarks on his daughter.
He vented his anger on his Facebook account but later deleted his post from the social media platform. The deleted post read: "I am going to screw this cretin Akshay Kumar for telling his co-worker Mallika Dua that 'Aap bell bajao, main aap ko bajata hun' at 5:26. This is his sense of humour and language... Star Plus... Wake up."
Piyush Sahdev rape case:
Beyhadh actor Piyush was arrested on November 22 on charges of rape under Section 376 of the IPC after an actress registered a case against him. It was reported that the actor was two-timing his rumoured girlfriend with another TV actress.
A source had told the Times of India: "Piyush recently went for a holiday with the actress where he got sexually involved with her. After coming back, he chose to end the relationship. Meanwhile, she had become a little serious about him. But with his negligent behaviour, she got irked. Piyush blackmailed her, threatening to leak obscene pictures of her over the internet. The actress paid no heed to him. This irked Piyush who actually leaked a few pictures."
Amit Tandon's estranged wife jailed:
TV actor-cum-singer Amit Tandon's wife Ruby Tandon has had been in Dubai jail since over six months now. Ruby, who is a dermatologist by profession, is reportedly in Al Raffa Jail.
According to reports, she is accused by certain DHA (Dubai Health Authority) officials of threatening a few government officials. Amit, who has been trying to free her, has failed so far despite multiple attempts.
Sanjeeda Shaikh in legal trouble:
A domestic violence case under Section 125 of CrPC had been filed against popular television actress Sanjeeda Shaikh and her family by her sister-in-law Zakerabanu Zakir Hussain Bagban.
A report in Mumbai Mirror said Zakerabanu's husband Anas Shaikh and his family would beat her and demand money from her father. She also claimed Anas was an alcoholic and a drug-addict. Sanjeeda and her family had, however, filed a petition that said Zakerabanu's statements were baseless.
Aneri Vajani trolled:
Beyhadh actress Aneri Vajani became victim of online body-shaming. On the occasion of International Yoga Day, Aneri posted a lingerie picture of hers on Instagram. In the picture, Vajani is seen posing in a red bra and yellow underwear and captioned it as, "When You Own Your Breath NoBody Steals Your Peace! Happy Yoya Day! :) #yoga day! [sic]"
And in no time, the picture went viral and before Aneri realised, netizens started trolling the 23-year-old actress terming her too skinny and malnourished. Some of them also slammed her for not wearing a proper bikini.
Hina Khan trolled:
Hina Khan, who is one of the top contenders in Bigg Boss 11, was trolled when she visited Mumbai's famous Lalbaugcha Raja pandal to seek blessings from Ganapati Bappa. The actress her was accompanied by her rumoured boyfriend Rocky Jaiswal.
While some supported her gesture, many trolled her on social media, claiming she was not Muslim enough. Some even reacted to it with nasty comments and it led to a Twitter war among her followers.
