Biggest newsmakers of 2016

2016 was undoubtedly an action-packed year for Bollywood denizens. While some made an impact with their international projects, some grabbed eyeballs with a cute baby bump. Some made it to the headlines for insensitive comments, while others secured a spot with their sheer dedication… To put it in a nutshell, B-Towners, as usual, made it to the news for all the right and wrong reasons.

Here’s a look at the biggest newsmakers, who ruled the headlines in 2016.

Perhaps, not a single month in 2016 went by without our very own international princess dominating the headlines not just in India but across the world.

Be it her popular American TV series Quantico, her Hollywood debut project — Baywatch, setting up a film production company, making it to the Time Magazine’s list of 100 Most influential people, the epic Emmy twirl, her lovely Oscar outfit, or her innumerable appearances on the covers of top international magazines… Priyanka Chopra achieved many career milestones in 2016 that kept her in the news throughout the year.

A newsmaker in the true sense, what say?

Another desi kudi to hog limelight on the international front was Deepika Padukone. First, it was the big announcement of her debut Hollywood film — xXx: Return of Xander Cage along with Vin Diesel.

This was soon followed by her posing for the cover of USA’s famous Paper magazine, which not only included her in the list of 1000 beautiful people but also tagged her as - THE BOLLYWOOD MEGA-STAR ABOUT TO CONQUER AMERICA.

Not only that the Padmavati actress was also named as the 10th highest paid actress.

2016 will go down in Bollywood history as the year when Kareena Kapoor Khan won the title of Bollywood’s coolest mom-to-be.

Bebo darling not only made it to every headline as soon as she announced her pregnancy but also stayed in the limelight till the birth of her son Taimur Ali Khan.

Kareena owned her pregnancy like a boss and happily flaunted her baby bump, unlike other actresses. From gracing magazine covers to walking the ramp, from wearing gorgeous gowns to even sporting thigh-high slits… like a true begum, Kareena made heads turn every time she stepped out.

Controversies favourite child, Salman Khan invariably made it to the headlines on more than one occasion in 2016.

First, the 51-year-old Sultan actor made a statement comparing his gruelling wrestling workouts with that to the condition of a raped woman, this brought him plenty of unwanted media attention.

Twitterati blasted the actor for making an insensitive remark and later, the National Commission for Women (NCW) even slapped a notice on Salman asking him to apologise for the insensitive comment, however, the actor refused to apologise.

Salman once again faced the media onslaught when he spoke against MNS ban on Pakistani artists. The actor said, "They are artists. We have killed the terrorists. Artists are not terrorists. These are two different subjects. They come to our country after acquiring visa, and it's our government who allows them with the work permit in our country."

When Bollywood’s most beautiful couple decide to call it quits, the media is bound to go into a frenzy over their split. And this is exactly what happened with Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.

The Jagga Jasoos couple made it to every headline and their breakup is still the talk of the town.

The Rock On 2 actor, too created quite a furore in the media when he ended his 15 years of marriage with Adhuna Akhtar last year.

That’s not all, the rumour-mills have been abuzz about him getting quite close to his co-star Shraddha Kapoor.

Another celebrity couple who shocked everyone when they decided to separate, was Malaika Arora Khan and Arbaaz Khan.

What’s more, Arbaaz’s hot and sexy wife has been in the news for a while now for her alleged link-up with Arjun Kapoor.

Bollywood films have often battled with each other at the box-office, however, the clash between Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Ajay Devgn’s Shivaay last year brought in a lot of drama.

It all started with the self-proclaimed critic – Kamaal R Khan (KRK) criticising Shivaay’s teaser and praising Kjo’s film. Soon after this Ajay released an audio recording of KRK, where KRK admitted that he took 25 lakhs from Karan Johar to praise ADHM and trash Ajay Devgn's Shivaay.

Devgn even issued an official statement demanding a probe if Johar was indeed involved in the matter. However, Karan only said, "My self-respect, reputation, company reputation and my upbringing doesn't allow me to dignify this question with a response."

It doesn’t take much of an effort for this perfectionist to make it the list of newsmakers every year. His hard work and dedication invariably bring him to the top of the list. Aamir Khan’s fat to fit transformation for Dangal was unquestionably the biggest highlight of 2016.

Not just that, the man yet again re-wrote box office history with his film Dangal.

The Greek God of Bollywood and the Queen of Bollywood practically ruled the headlines in 2016 with their controversial scandal.

It all started in the beginning of 2016 when T-Series apparently dropped Kangana from a project starring Hrithik Roshan. When asked about it, Kangana made a comment about how 'silly exes' do stupid things to get attention, obviously hinting at Hrithik.

What ensued was the ugliest battle Bollywood has ever seen. Rumours of Hrithik and Kangana’s love affair and break-up spread like wildfire and the actors slapped legal notices at each other.

Kangana publicly divulged a few details about their relationship, in return Hrithik accused her of stalking him online and sending him 50 emails a day. After months of mud-slinging at each other, the case is still not closed.