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Controversies can destroy your product. And if your luck shines bright, controversies can also make your product more in demand. There have been times certain aspects of a particular movie that create divided opinions about it. In some cases, such a divisive opinion can mean the death knell for the film. Case in point, Shah Rukh Khan's Zero. In some other cases, divided stances, albeit fuelled by outrage, can lead to the films doing tremendous business at the box office, sometimes minting money beyond the wildest dreams of a trade analyst. Batla House vs Mission Mangal: Akshay Kumar Is a Lucky Charm for John Abraham at Box Office and We Have Ample Proof of That!
In this box office feature, we look at 10 such movies that got divisive reactions, with detractors being either the critics or a particular section or community or political party. And yet, they managed to draw in the crowds to earn the hit status for themselves. Starting with the most recent:
Mission Mangal
Box Office Earnings: Rs 97 crore* (in five days - still running)
Why It Was Divisive: Who expected an Akshay Kumar film to get some hate from the right-wing groups? Even before the movie came out, some Hindu politicians and influencers took offence to a scene where the son of Vidya Balan's character, who is a Hindu, expresses his wish to convert to Islam. The RW-ers were annoyed with how the movie played it cool with the idea of conversion. But it only brought the film more into the spotlight, and is all set to be Akshay Kumar's first Rs 200 crore movie in Hindi. Akshay Kumar Starrer Mission Mangal Sparks Controversy Over a Religious Scene, Twitterati Trend #BoycottMissionMangal Calling it 'Anti-Hindu'.
Super 30
Box Office Earnings: Rs 146.78 Crore* (Still Running)
Why It Was Divisive: Hrithik Roshan's Super 30 has been shrouded in various controversies, from its inspiration, Anand Kumar, being accused of making fake claims, to its director, Vikas Bahl, getting embroiled in #MeToo Controversy. After release, the movie was further accused of ignoring some hard facts about the real Super 30 classes in the movie's attempt to make Anand Kumar into a messiah. Super 30, however, dodged these roadblocks and performed decently at the box office, getting into the Rs 100 crore club with ease.
Kabir Singh
Box Office Earnings: Rs 278.24 Crore
Why It Was Divisive: Certainly the most divisive blockbuster of the year. Most of the critics and the women-empowerment groups tore the Shahid Kapoor-starrer apart, for what they deem as a romanticisation of male toxicity, even giving the film bad reviews. Interestingly, the original film, Arjun Reddy in Telugu, had gotten highly positive reviews when it came out in 2017. But Kabir Singh went on to earn multiple times more than the Vijay Deverekonda-starrer's lifetime earnings. Even the makers were surprised that Kabir Singh made so much money, though they should thank the outragers for keeping the movie in news. Taapsee Pannu Slams Kabir Singh Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga and the Trolls All at Once! Read Tweets.
Article 15
Box Office Earnings: Rs 65.45 Crore
Why It Was Divisive: Anubhav Sinha's film, starring Ayushmann Khurrana, is a well-made film made on a hard-hitting subject and with terrific performances. It may not have earned as much as the other films in the list, but Article 15 was a hit nevertheless. The movie, however, attracted the ire of the upper caste Hindus for allegedly portraying them in a bad light.
Uri – The Surgical Strike
Box Office Earnings: Rs 245.36 Crore
Why It Was Divisive: Even before the movie came out, Uri was accused of being a propaganda flick for the ruling government releasing mere months before the Lok Sabha elections. Considering its subject - the surgical strikes of 2016 - is still being hotly debated for its impact, Uri was ready to face the flak. At the time of its release, the movie received mixed reviews, but soon grew at the box office to be a monster hit. It was also lavishly praised by the BJP ministers, even withing the Assembly, and has earned multiple National Awards including Best Actor for Vicky Kaushal and Best Director.
Sanju
Box Office Earnings: Rs 342.53 Crore
Why It Was Divisive: Ranbir Kapoor's biggest hit was directed by Rajkumar Hirani. As you know, the film is based on the life of controversial Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, who was accused in the TADA case and had even served punishment for the same. While Sanju was praised for the performances and Hirani's direction, the movie was accused of whitewashing Dutt, which the director later admitted to doing. So while the film enjoyed a great run at the box office, it isn't spoken much off months after its release.
Veere Di Wedding
Box Office Earnings: Rs 81.39 Crore
Why It Was Divisive: Veere Di Wedding, a pleasantly watchable chick flick, wouldn't have gotten so much hatred, had not the lead actresses put themselves at the forefront of the placard protests. Their campaign was to spread awareness for the victims in the Kathua and Unnao rape cases, but the right-wingers trolled them for allegedly placing the Hindu community in a bad light. Swara Bhasker's masturbation scene in the movie got slammed, though the detractors were exactly proving the point of the scene by doing so. Swara, Kareena Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor still get hate for what they did from this particular section, but at least the movie benefitted from the controversy.
Baaghi 2
Box Office Earnings: Rs 164.38 Crore
Why It Was Divisive: Baaghi 2 was the perfect case of the critics and the masses being so divided over a movie, but the latter winning the case for the film. Tiger Shroff's biggest hit was also slammed for invoking the real incident of a Kashmiri being tied on to a military jeep just for sensational purposes. Ranveer Singh's Bathtub Romance in Padmaavat, Salman Khan's 'flying' in Race 3, Swara Bhasker's Shocking Scene in Veere Di Wedding - 10 Bizarre Scenes in The First Half of 2018.
Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety
Box Office Earnings: Rs 108.95 Crore
Why It Was Divisive: Save for Akash Vaani, most of Luv Ranjan films have been slammed for inherent misogyny, sexism and its skewered portrayal of females. Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety was no different, but the public disregarded the criticism to turn the film into a big success and push Kartik Aaryan into superstar status.
Padmaavat
Box Office Earnings: Rs 302.15 Crore
Why It Was Divisive: No other movie in this list has created the kind of noise that Padmaavat made, that too, right from the time it was announced. From the director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, getting slapped by Karni Sena members to shooting getting halt, the movie saw much trouble during production itself. The release dates also got shuffled as the Karni Sena members raised their decibel levels by the day, and even announcing reward on SLB's head and Deepika Padukone's nose. When the movie came out, buses were burned in a couple of towns and the screenings were halted. But the public came out in hordes to support Padmaavat, and make it an all-time blockbuster.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 19, 2019 08:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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