2017 in review: Baahubali, Virat to censored Padmavati, top 10 newsmakers

The year 2017 was an eventful one for India’s entertainment industry – from the Padmavati row to Virushka wedding and Baahubali’s box-office collections, here is our pick of top 10 newsmakers of the year:

The year 2017 proved to be full of controversies for the entertainment industry, with films, TV shows and personalities all becoming part of some row. It was also the year for athletes and sportspersons to shine – whether in the crowd-favourite field of cricket or in up and coming badminton. Cricket especially took the centre stage as the Indian Premier League proved its mettle, commanding unheard of sums in media rights. When it came to money-making, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion took the cake, stunning everyone with its collections in multiple languages.

Business Standard takes you through some of the highlights of the year 2017:

1. IPL Media Rights juggernaut

If there were any doubts regarding the popularity and importance of the IPL in Indian sports broadcasting, they were all firmly put to rest at the media rights auction that took place in September. Attracting a bevy of domestic and international bidders, the Twenty20 tournament changed homes after 10 years, moving to Star India for an astounding Rs 16,340 crore for the next five years.

2. Star India-Disney deal

Star India was in the news towards the end of the year, when its international parent 21st Century Fox sold off its regional entertainment and sports business to Disney. Marking one of the biggest shake-ups in the Indian TV and entertainment industry, Star India will merge with Disney India in the coming months to make one of the biggest entertainment outfits of the country. This also means the sports broadcast landscape would look very different a year and a half from now.

3. The CBFC Chronicles 

The Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC) had a busy year. At the start of the year, Lipstick Under My Burkha earned the ire of the board, and managed to release in theatres only after much back and forth. The board also saw a change of leadership, with ad-man and lyricist Prasoon Joshi replacing Pahlaj Nihalani. The certification board capped the year off by getting right in the middle of the Padmavati controversy, when it refused to certify the film in time for a release, citing a technicality.

4. The Padmavati pandemonium

Perhaps the most visible controversy of the year was Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati getting certain communities up in arms against its release. While the makers maintained that the film would be released and that it would assuage people’s concerns once they would see it, the release finally had to be delayed after it failed to get a certification from the CBFC. The film’s tryst with controversy began long back, though, with groups vandalising its sets during shooting. The whole issue rested around the portrayal of Rani Padmini and her interaction/relationship with Allauddin Khilji.

5. Deepika Padukone

As a fallout of the Padmavati controversy, Padukone also found herself as a target. Multiple groups targeted her, some even announcing bounties on her head and – amusingly – her nose, as she was deemed disrespectful towards Indian culture. Her fault? She managed to offend people by allegedly calling India a regressive country.

6. The Virushka wedding

Another Bollywood actor to make waves this year was Anushka Sharma, but for reasons completely off the celluloid. Sharma’s wedding to the Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli was the talk of the town from the word go. From a private ceremony in Italy to lavish functions in India, social media and news outlets kept a keen eye on everything from the couple’s wardrobe to the menu at the events.

7. Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’s Box Office Conquest 

The sequel to 2015’s immensely successful Baahubali: The Beginning, this film stunned everyone with its box office rampage. The Hindi dubbed version alone made Rs 510 crore, while the aggregate box office collection for the film (across languages) exceeded Rs 1,000 crore, a first for any Indian film. The film’s success catapulted maker S S Rajamouli and lead actors Prabhas and Rana Dagubatti into the Forbes top 100 Indian Celebrities list.

8. Shuttlers’ success

While cricket kept its momentum in 2017, badminton also rose in ranks, with both P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth forging ahead with multiple wins. This resulted in a massive social media chatter around the players, and put a spotlight squarely on their brand potential.

9. Run machine Rohit Sharma 

The acting captain of Team India – with regular Virat Kohli out for his own wedding – ended the year on a high with multiple centuries in India’s home series against Sri Lanka and a double ton in the one-day international held at Mohali.

10. Leaky Tales

While Game of Thrones is a global phenomenon, no doubt, India figured in the show’s journey this year – and it was not in the most favourable terms. The show, which aired its seventh season in 2017, was a victim to multiple leaks, with one of the first (and the most extensive) originating from India.