IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack has been facing backlash online as the makers used the Hindu names of terrorists in the web series. The story focuses on the IC 814 hijack in December 1999. The flight, carrying 191 passengers, took off from Kathmandu en route to Delhi was hijacked and landed in Kandahar under Taliban control. In one of the scenes in the web series, a terrorist was seen calling out Hindu names over the phone as a code word to identify their teammates. After the release of the show, ‘Boycott Bollywood’ has been trending for the past couple of days on social media platform X. This is not the first time that this trend has been followed on social media. Earlier, several movies faced this kind of outrageous protest online and even on the streets ahead of their release. Check out the list of movies that triggered the ‘Boycott Bollywood’ trend prior to their release. 

Emergency

Kangana Ranaut’s much-anticipated movie Emergency is one of the latest Bollywood films that became controversial days before its release. Several Sikh groups in the country including the political party Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) accused the makers have for using misleading information in the movie. The party also urged the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to ban the movie. Emergency stars Kangana Ranaut, Vishak Nair, Milind Soman, Shreyas Talpade and Anupam Kher in key roles. It was initially scheduled to be released in theatres on September 6 2024. 

Padmaavat

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s periodical drama Padmaavat faced several controversies ahead of its release. It was said that there was a dream sequence shot between Rani Padmavati and Allauddin Khilji. Which led to several protests, boycott calls and also an attack on Bhansali during the film’s shooting in Rajasthan. The movie starred Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Aditi Rao Hydari in the key roles. Released in 2018, the film was a huge blockbuster of that year. 

Brahmastra: Part One-Shiva

It was one of the most awaited films of 2022, fans were quite excited to watch the movie. During the promotions, Alia Bhatt was asked to react to Boycott calls. To which she replied, “If you don’t like me, don’t watch me.” This statement was not taken well by the movie watchers as many users on social media wanted to Boycott Bollywood and her film. However, despite all the challenges the movie was one of the biggest blockbusters of the year. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan and Mouni Roy in key roles. 

Pathaan

It was one of the most awaited films of Shah Rukh Khan as he returned to the silver screen after a long break in 2023. But things did not go well after one of the songs in the movie Besharam was released which faced major scrutiny due to the colour of the swimsuit worn by Deepika Padukone. In the song, the actress can be seen wearing an orange monokini which hurt the ‘Hindu’ sentiments of the people. Several protests happened at that time to boycott the movie. It starred Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham in the lead roles. 

Laal Singh Chaddha

Ahead of the release of the movie in 2022, netizens dug out old interviews of Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor. Khan’s ‘growing intolerance in India’ statement went viral on social media ahead of the movie’s release which influenced people to call forBoycott Bollywood. In another old interview, Kareena could be seen asking people not to watch her movies if they are not interested. Laal Singh Chaddha was the Hindi adaptation of the English movie Forrest Gump.