Ever since we got the glimpse of Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Saadat Hasan Manto, we have been excited about the teaser. If there is one thing that Nawaz has shown us over time is the fact that he can do anything and everything. He is extraordinary and leaves no stone unturned when it comes to portraying a character. And that’s exactly what he did in the teaser of ‘Manto’ that was released on 13th May at Cannes Film Festival.

Directed by Nandita Das, the film is based on author Saadat Hasan Manto. It was 10 years ago when Nandita made her directorial debut with ‘Firaaq’ featuring Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead and now they are all set to entertain us again with a movie that will leave you stunned.

© Viacom 18 Motion Pictures

The teaser transports us to the post-Independence era when we were still struggling with poverty and corruption. Nawaz plays a fearless and rebellious writer, who is unstoppable and speaks his mind out loudly. 

Soon we also see a court case being filed against Manto for his popular story- Thanda Ghosht in Lahore after he moved to Pakistan. We also see debates taking place between him and his wife Safia (Rasika Duggal).

© Viacom 18 Motion Pictures

The clip highlights show how Manto is unstoppable and unapologetic about what he narrates in his stories. The film traces the most difficult four years of Manto’s life during the India-Pakistan partition. The pathos of his views and thoughts have been presented in the most impactful manner by Nandita and Nawaz both.

There is a line in the teaser that sums up everything about life, “aakhir mein afsaane hi reh jaate hain aur unke kirdaar.”

© Viacom 18 Motion Pictures

Taking to his Twitter, Nawazuddin shared the teaser and tweeted, “First day in #FestivalDeCannes with the much awaited #MantoTeaser #CannesWithManto.”

First day in #FestivalDeCannes with the much awaited #MantoTeaser #CannesWithManto                   https://t.co/mwbdJUB7Nv

— Nawazuddin Siddiqui (@Nawazuddin_S) May 12, 2018

In the movie, Abid Ali Abid will be seen donning the role of lyricist Javed Akhtar, Chandan Roy Sanyal as Manto’s close friend Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, and Rishi Kapoor as a film producer. You also have Ila Arun as Jaddanbai, Rajashri Deshpande as Ismat Chughtai and Tillotama Shome as a prostitute.

Check out the teaser now:

“Tumhe koi haq nahi banta ki tum itni khoobsurat lago!”  We bet this is the iconic dialogue running through everyone’s head every time they see Kangana Ranaut walking around at the Cannes Film Festival 2018, looking unbelievable. 

While Deepika Padukone is all over the news for her classy look at Cannes, it is Kangana who has knocked the wind out of all of us. She is turning up the heat, proving that she is the real queen indeed.

The gorgeous diva made her debut at Cannes in a black shimmery Sabyasachi Sari, taking us back to the retro days.

#Repost @stylebyami (@get_repost) ・・・ 🖤 #KanganaRanaut for the #indiapavillion at Cannes 🙌🙌🙌

A post shared by Kangana Ranaut (@team_kangana_ranaut) on May 9, 2018 at 10:03am PDT

A few days ago, she decked up in a beautiful silk saree for Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja’s reception looking glorious and beautiful at the same time. Radiating a golden glow, she made us realise that she can pull off any look effortlessly, making heads turn.

A post shared by Kangana Ranaut (@team_kangana_ranaut) on May 8, 2018 at 9:55am PDT

While no actress could ever recreate Audrey Hepburn’s iconic charisma, Kangana came pretty close. 

#Repost @sabyasachimumbai (@get_repost) ・・・ Kangana Ranaut @team_kangana_ranaut @festivaldecannes looks resplendent in an ultra-glamorous rendition of our famous ”Aakash-tara’ (i.e. starry skies) saree. The saree is hand-dyed and embellished with hand-cut sequins that are individually sewn using zardosi technique, to create a metallic, yet fluid fabric. Her look is accessorised with a Sabyasachi batua and the ‘teenmaniya’ necklace, crafted out of rose-cut diamonds, Colombian emeralds and basra pearls from the Sabyasachi Heritage Jewelry Collection. Styled by @stylebyami and @shnoy09 Makeup by: @brendondegee Image Courtesy: @frozenpixelstudios Location courtesy: Hôtel Martinez @martinezhotel Image Courtesy: @bollyfashionfiesta #Sabyasachi #SummerCouture2018 #KanganaRanaut #QueenAtCannes #GreyGooseLife #GreyGooseIndia #Cannes2018 #LeClubDeCalcutta #SabyasachiJewelry #TheWorldOfSabyasachi #FestivalDeCannes #IndiaPavilion #LifeAtCannes #HotelMartinez @sabyasachiofficial

A post shared by Kangana Ranaut (@team_kangana_ranaut) on May 10, 2018 at 1:01am PDT

Donning a Zuhair Murad sheer gown, she looked nothing less than a dream.

Ladies and gents, The Queen In @zuhairmuradofficial Couture at #Cannes2018 @greygooseindia . . Styled by @lornamcgeee HMU: @brendondegee #Greygooselife (📸: @frozenpixelstudios)

A post shared by Kangana Ranaut (@team_kangana_ranaut) on May 10, 2018 at 9:27am PDT

The Queen In @zuhairmuradofficial Couture at #Cannes2018 @greygooseindia . . Styled by @lornamcgeee HMU: @brendondegee #Greygooselife (📸: @frozenpixelstudios)

A post shared by Kangana Ranaut (@team_kangana_ranaut) on May 10, 2018 at 9:33am PDT

And just look at that sexy back and bod! *Sigh*

The queen is coming…

A post shared by Kangana Ranaut (@team_kangana_ranaut) on May 10, 2018 at 8:41am PDT

The Queen on the carpet! Styled by @lornamcgeee HMU: @brendondegee @zuhairmuradofficial . . #queenatcannes #GreygooseIndia #Greygooselife

A post shared by Kangana Ranaut (@team_kangana_ranaut) on May 10, 2018 at 12:16pm PDT

Giving us a boss girl vibes who doesn’t give a f***, she wore a buttoned-down leather dress from the collections of Nanushka. Boy, is it just us who is a little out of breath, or are you feeling the same?

NEW – #kanganaranaut in @nanushka at #cannes2018 â?¤ðŸŒ´ #kanganaatcannes . . . . . #cannes #cannesfilmfestival #queen #bollywood #nanushka

A post shared by 👸 Queens Of Bollywood 👸 (@queensbolly) on May 11, 2018 at 4:50am PDT

And here’s the look that made us go weak in the knee. How on earth can someone look this smoking hot?

Jacket, bra and trousers; @trussardi Shoes @manoloblahnikhq Necklace @alighieri_jewellery Sunglasses @poppylissiman Styled by @lornamcgeee HMU @brendondegee . . #queenatcannes #greygooselife #greygooseindia

A post shared by Kangana Ranaut (@team_kangana_ranaut) on May 11, 2018 at 4:33am PDT

Did you see that?

Jacket, bra and trousers; @trussardi Shoes @manoloblahnikhq Necklace @alighieri_jewellery Sunglasses @poppylissiman Styled by @lornamcgeee HMU @brendondegee . . #queenatcannes #greygooselife #greygooseindia

A post shared by Kangana Ranaut (@team_kangana_ranaut) on May 11, 2018 at 4:33am PDT

Is she real or an illusion?

#kanganaranaut

A post shared by ana pepo (@faresblahabieb) on May 11, 2018 at 4:35am PDT

Quick lunch before the big red carpet . . #queenatcannes #kanganaranaut #kanganaatcannes #love #greygooselife

A post shared by Kangana Ranaut (@team_kangana_ranaut) on May 11, 2018 at 5:54am PDT

Flawless is the word!

Hello India, Kangana is excited for the red carpet today. Are you? Watch this space for more… . . #queenatcannes #kanganaranaut #kanganaatcannes #greygooselife #greygooseindia

A post shared by Kangana Ranaut (@team_kangana_ranaut) on May 11, 2018 at 4:38am PDT

We bet Hollywood is already eyeing the diva who is still oozing hotness and raising the temperature like never before. And as Kangana says in ‘Revolver Rani’, “I love phasion, phun aur gun.”

All hail Kangana- The Queen.

Until we actually heard Ranveer Singh lending his voice to Wade Wilson in ‘Deadpool 2’ for the Hindi version of the Marvel film, we never realised that he was the desi superhero we always needed. Putting his trademark skills to this role, Ranveer was seen cursing like a boss, jumping from Marathi to Punjabi accents like a pro.

âš” MAUSHICHI âš” #Deadpool2Hindi Trailer drops at 12pm @foxstarindia

A post shared by Ranveer Singh (@ranveersingh) on May 6, 2018 at 10:06pm PDT

And now joining the league is YouTube sensation Bhuvan Bam aka BB Ki Vines. While Ranveer is voicing Deadpool, Bhuvan is lending his voice to Dopinder, the quirky taxi driver played by Karan Soni. Dopinder’s character is one of the most loved ones and adds to the already overflowing comic relief in the movie.

© Instagram

Taking to his social media, Bhuvan shared the news and wrote, “Glad to announce that I’ll be lending my voice to Dopinder in Deadpool 2 (Hindi). Yeh mazedaar isiliye bhi hai kyunki Hindi mein Hollywood movie dekhne ka maza alag hai. Choti par achi shuruwaat.” 

Glad to announce that I’ll be lending my voice to Dopinder in Deadpool 2 (Hindi). Yeh mazedaar isiliye bhi hai kyunki Hindi mein Hollywood movie dekhne ka maza alag hai. ðŸ˜? Choti par achi shuruwaat. 😊 #BBasDopinder #Deadpool2 âš”ï¸? @foxstarindia @deadpoolmovie @marvel @ranveersingh

A post shared by Bhuvan Bam Official (@bhuvan.bam22) on May 9, 2018 at 2:49am PDT

Bhuvan’s fans are super excited just like him. Looking at the latest development, it seems like they are going for popular names over star power for dubbing, which is quite a smart move.

© Fox Studio

After the massive success of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, the makers are trying to make it big in the Indian market. After all, Avengers churned over 200 crores at the Indian box office within two weeks.

Ranveer’s voice has gotten mixed responses and now we are all excited to see how people will react to Bhuvan’s inclusion in the cast.

What is Bollywood without a steady dose of controversies and protesting, hysterical fanatics threatening to burn down everything if a movie offends them or their beliefs? India is not a stranger to witnessing severe objection to certain types of cinematic content, and sadly, the trend shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.   

Indian filmmakers create hundreds of films every year, which either do not get released or lead to controversy, protest, and bans. 

There are certain people in our nation who are not very accepting when a thought-provoking film is made. From communities to even the Censor Board, everyone brings their own issues to the table, which we bet, even the makers may have never thought of.

So, here we have a list of 18 films that landed in hot waters because the Indian masses couldn’t digest the content.

1972: ‘Siddhartha’

© Pinterest

Once upon a time, the Indian Censor Board was a tad too sensitive and used to get easily offended (still does). Anything that had to deal with sexuality was considered against principles and ethics (because India is filled with saints!). Conrad Rooks’s ‘Siddhartha’ was about exploring your sexuality and India didn’t approve of it.

 
1973: ‘Garm Hawa’

© Unit SMM

Based on an unpublished story by an Urdu Writer Ismat Chughtai, ‘Garm Hawa’ takes us back to 1947 when India received Independence and the horror of Partition took place. Tracing the story of a Muslim businessman, the movie shows the complexity he faced after the Partition. Just like every Muslim at the time, he was facing the option of staying back in his homeland or leave with his family to the newly formed Pakistan. This is one of those rare gems that throws light on what the Muslims went through when the British tore the country apart. Fearing possible communal violence and riots, the movie was postponed by eight months.

1975: ‘Aandhi’

© Pinterest

Considered to be one of the critically acclaimed films, at one point it was banned for the whole tenure of the National Emergency. Wondering what was Sanjeev Kumar and Suchitra Sen’s movie all about? This political drama revolved around a female politician who reminded many of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Many even claimed that the movie was based on her life and her relationship with her husband. However, the storyline has nothing to do with Gandhi’s life. But, the makers were even asked to remove the scenes where Suchitra was seen smoking and drinking (as if all politicians just drink milk).

1985: ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’

© Youtube

The legendary Raj Kapoor often challenged the society and its belief. ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’ was one such movie, which was said to have scenes that Bollywood had never witnessed before. In fact, if you watch the Mandakini and Rajiv Kapoor starrer movie, you will be surprised as to why the controversy even began in the first place, because none of the scenes directed were uncomfortable or vulgar. 

1994: ‘Bandit Queen’

© Twitter

To pick a subject like this in a country like India requires more than just a thought. What no one could do during the early 90’s, director Shekhar Kapur dared to. Based on the life of Phoolan Devi, one of the most feared woman dacoits in northern India, the movie gives you legit goosebumps. Phoolan, who led a gang of bandits, belonged to a poor low caste family and was married to a man thrice her age. Describing what happened to her isn’t easy. The film showed a hyper use of abusive language, sexual content, and nudity due to which it was criticised. But despite everything, ‘Bandit Queen’ won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film. If you haven’t watched this one, you are missing on something truly big.  

1996: ‘Fire’

© hamilton-Mehta productions

Well, talking about homosexuality is not that big deal in present times, but it was in 1996 when critically acclaimed director Deepa Mehta made ‘Fire’. This is the first installment of the Elements trilogy. Throwing light on a taboo subject in a country like India always has severe effects. When ‘Fire’ was released, posters were burnt, theatres were destroyed because Indians at the time were not ready to deal with a subject that spoke about homosexuality (as if turning a blind eye is the solution). The movie was retracted for a brief time.

1996: ‘Kama Sutra: A Tale Of Love’

© Mirabai Films

Well, we can do it but we don’t like talking about it. India is called the land of Kama Sutra, but how ironic is it that we feel ashamed to even talk about it publicly! If Vatsayana was alive today, he would have loved Meera Nair’s ‘Kama Sutra: A Tale Of Love’. The movie explores love and the sexual equation of four lovers in the 16th century. This film was banned in India because the officials felt that the sexual content was too harsh. How funny, especially when the book is easily accessible for purchase online and offline. The movie apparently went against our ethics and moral. However, around the world, it was praised and acclaimed.

2004: ‘Murder’

© BCCL

How on Earth can we ever forget this movie? It was a film that made every parent uneasy and as kids it often made us wonder why we couldn’t see it. The steamy-hot scenes between Mallika Sherawat and Emraan Hashmi were clearly too hot to handle for the entire nation.

2005: ‘Sins’

© Twitter

One lesson that we have learned over time is that one should never ever question religion and its values. This Shiney Ahuja movie was actually based on true events where a Catholic priest was involved with a young woman. Clearly, this wasn’t going to end well. The topic pissed off so many people that no television channel was even ready to promote it. 

2005: ‘Water’

© Twitter

Deepa Mehta’s movie ‘Water’ (third installment of the Elements trilogy) received massive backlash.  The film throws light on the topic of ostracism and misogyny through the lives of widows at an ashram in Varanasi. The protesters were of the opinion that ‘Water’ displayed the country in a bad light, and even before the shooting began, right-wing activists starting issuing death threats and even destroyed the sets. The vandalism was so intense that Mehta had to change her shooting location from Varanasi to Sri Lanka. And that’s not it, she even had to change the entire cast and shoot the film under a pseudo-title, ‘River Moon’.

2005: ‘Amu’

© Youtube

What happens when you start questioning everything about your existence? Amu is a story about 1984 riots in India where thousands of Sikhs were massacred. People were so against this film that the Censor Board in India took ample of time reviewing it and it was also not approved to be telecast on the television.

2006: ‘The Pink Mirror’

© Solaries Pictures

We bet you haven’t even heard about this film because it never made it to the theatres. ‘The Pink Mirror’ is the first mainstream film that showed two transsexuals in the main lead. Well, we think it was ‘the’ film that could have changed the face of Indian cinema, but our sanskari ‘Censor Board’ had a different perspective. While the masses never got the opportunity to watch it, the film won the Jury Award for Best Feature at the New York LGBT Film Festival and the Best Film of the Festival at Question de Genre in Lille, France. The movie is now available on Netflix but the real question is….if we are ready for another bold film like this? 

2007: ‘Black Friday’

© Twitter

‘Black Friday’ was not just a game changer for filmmaker Anurag Kashyap but also for Bollywood. On one hand, when B-town was all about sappy romance, this one talked about the 1993 Mumbai bombings. The movie was suspended by the Bombay High Court until the trial. It took ‘Black Friday’ three more years before we finally got to see it and the wait was worth it. From the Indian media to international scribes, people applauded Kashyap’s vision. 

2007: ‘Parzania’

© Lighthouse Company

A heart-wrenching movie, ‘Parzania’ was inspired by the true story of a 10-year-old boy, Azhar Mody who disappeared after the 2002 Gulbarg Society massacre. Yes, it’s that same carnage where 69 people were killed for no fault but just out of sheer hatred. This is one of the many incidents which led to the Gujarat riots. When ‘Parzania; was released, the cinema owners in Gujarat threatened to boycott its screening, which led to an unofficial ban in Gujarat.

2007: ‘Nishabd’

© PVR Pictures

What happens when a man in 60’s falls in love with a teenager? Simple. Protests. Because it’s just against our values. An adaptation of the classic novel ‘Lolita’, the movie caused massive protest in Allahabad.

2010: ‘Inshallah, Football’

© Alipur Films

While ‘Inshallah, Football’ was praised by the critics it never got the green light from the Indian authorities for its release. Why? This is a documentary film about a young boy from Kashmir whose ambition is to become a footballer. But what’s his fault? He lives in military conflicted Kashmir. He is talented, has what it takes but everything comes to an end when he couldn’t travel out of the country because his father is an alleged militant. Those who have seen this movie believed the makers showcased the reality of violence, but the authorities felt the film was critical about the political tension in Kashmir and how the Indian military operated there.

2015: ‘India’s Daughter’

© Twitter

The movie was based on the brutal Nirbhaya rape case that still gives us chills. Directed by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin, the documentary takes you back to the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder of 23-year-old student Jyoti Singh. The film also has Mukesh Singh, the accused convict, who talks about why he committed the crime and how he felt about it. ‘India’s Daughter’ was banned in India for some time because of the rapist’s views on how he discriminates and understands the two genders portrayed India in a negative light. This one will give you sleepless nights, as it’s so painful to witness what happened.

2018: ‘Padmaavat’

© SLB Films

Do we even need to start talking about the controversy that followed ‘Padmaavat’? From Bhansali being assaulted to the protestors giving death threats to even a bounty being announced on Deepika Padukone’s head, the right-wing groups did everything one could think of. Based on the famous legend of Rani Padmavati, the film talks about her beauty and then Delhi ruler Alauddin Khilji’s obsession with her beauty. The communities felt that the film misrepresents and sabotages history. The Rajputs were against the release of the film. After months of struggle, the movie finally released this year and was loved by the viewers.