From Zaira Wasim quitting Bollywood to Salman Khan-Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s fallout – here are the Newsmakers of 2019

Bollywood has had a rather eventful year. Beyond box office hits like ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’ and ‘Housefull 4’, B-town was hitting headlines for other things too. From Zaira Wasim quitting her acting career to Salman Khan-Sanjay Leela Bhansali having a major fall out – Bollywood has been buzzing with a lot of interesting developments. As the year is coming to an end and the nation is protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, Bollywood has also joined the campaign. Here’s taking a look at all the top newsmakers of 2019.

Zaira Wasim won hearts with her performance in ‘Dangal’ but this year she shocked everyone with her decision to quit Bollywood. In a lengthy social media post Zaira talked about how the decision that she made five years ago has changed her life. She stated that she is not happy with the identity that her work got her and that her relationship with her religion was challenged. Zaira’s last Bollywood outing was ‘The Sky Is Pink’, which hit the screens this year.

Amitabh Bachchan had hosted his annual Diwali bash this year and who’s who of Bollywood was in attendance. However a mishap took place at the Diwali party, which involved Aishwarya’s manager. Aishwarya’s manager, Archana Sadanand’s lehenga caught fire due to a diya present at the venue. Aishwarya was quick to run to save her as she tore Archana’s lehenga which was on fire, while Shah Rukh Khan went over and lent his sherwani to Archana.

Back in November, Priyanka Chopra was in Delhi shooting for one of her upcoming projects with Rajkummar Rao. Tweeting about the alarmingly high pollution level in the capital, Priyanka had shared a selfie with a mask and written, “It’s so hard to shoot here right now that I can’t even imagine what it must be like to live here under these conditions. We r blessed with air purifiers and masks. Pray for the homeless. Be safe everyone.” Several social media users took a dig at the actress for her smoking pictures which had gone viral earlier.

Salman Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali reuniting for ‘Inshallah’ came has a massive treat for fans of the two. However, just as the film was about to go on floors, the actor-director had a massive fall out. Spekaing about the fallout Salman had told Mumbai Mirror, “Sanjay was a friend even before we started working on Khamoshi. He had come to meet me through Manisha Koirala. After that, we collaborated on Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. When he came to me with this film, I liked it and we decided to work together again. One thing I can say is that Sanjay won’t do gaddaari with his film. I want him to make the film he wants to make. Nothing changes between us as friends and I’m sure nothing has changed in Sanjay’s heart for me. I’m extremely close to his mother (Leela) and sister (Bela). I wish him all the best. He and I will still work in future on a film, Inshallah.”

2019 saw two leading ladies, Taapsee Pannu and Kangana Rananut, indulge in a massive war of words. It all started when during an interview when Taapsee was asked as to what she would like to gift Kangana, the actress had said, “A double filter”. And in a second instance, Taapsee missed out on mentioning Kangana while praising Ekta Kapoor produced ‘Judgemental Hai Kya’. Kangana’s sister Rangoli retorted on social media, “Last I heard Taapsee ji said Kangana needs a double filter and Tapsee ji you need to stop being a sasti copy.” And this controversy snowballed when Rangoli remarked that Bollywood should cast age-appropriate actors when referring to Taapse Pannu starrer ‘Saand Ki Aankh’, which she claimed was offered to Kangana.

With the nation protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, several celebrities have also joined in the campaign. While several celebrities voiced their opinion on social media, stars like Farhan Akhtar, Shibani Dandekar, Zoya Akhtar, Sushant Singh, Huma Qureshi and others attended the CAA protest held in the city. Speaking to the media, Farhan had said, "As a citizen of this country and as somebody who has been born and has grown up with a certain idea of what India is, it is important for me to raise my voice."