Salman Khan: 2012's biggest blockbuster was spy movie Ek Tha Tiger, co-starring Katrina Kaif. Salman's fourth-in-row film to fetch Rs 100 crores and above, Ek Tha Tiger made its star the top man of Bollywood's top men. But Salman made headlines off-screen too, with the decades old cases against him coming back to haunt him. The 2002 hit-and-run case kept the actor in and out of courts and very much in the news, with allegations levelled against Mumbai police of having faked evidence to cover up for him. More recently, the Jodhpur Court summoned him to appear before it on February 4, 2013 in connection with the chinkara poaching case which dates back to 1998 and for which he was sentenced to a year's imprisonment. And 2012 is not over yet for Salman. With the much-hyped Dabangg 2 set for release on December 21, and his stint as a host on the show Bigg Boss 6 earning him rave reviews, Salman Khan is likely to end the year with a bang as well.
Shah Rukh Khan: The King was in the new for many wrong reasons. In January, SRK was involved in a late night showdown with Farah Khan's husband, director Shirish Kunder, at a party hosted by Sanjay Dutt. Shirish accused SRK of having assaulted him but eye-witnesses at the party said Shirish deserved it. Hostilities continued on Twitter before an uneasy truce was called.
In April, SRK was detained for nearly two hours at a New York airport by immigration officials. SRK was there to receive the Chubb Fellowship at Yale University. He was the only passenger on his private jet to be singled out or questioning, a repeat of his 2009 detention at Newark airport. The US government apologised, for the second time, and SRK's take on the matter- "Whenever I start feeling too arrogant about myself I take a trip to America."
In May, the Rajasthan Police served summons on SRK to appear in a Jaipur court after he was seen on camera smoking during an IPL match at Jaipur's Sawai Man Singh stadium. Pleading guilty, the actor sought exemption from personal appearance in a court and was later fined Rs 100.
At the same time, SRK was banned for five years from Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium as the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) alleged that SRK abused and misbehaved with security personnel and its officials after a match between his team Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians. SRK had said that he was provoked when his children were “physically manhandled in the name of security”.
The year ended on a better note for SRK and his fans after his film Jab Tak Hai Jaan, co-starring Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma, became a roaring success at the box office.
Aamir Khan: In April, Aamir attended the wedding of his friend and auto-rickshaw driver Ram Lakhan's son in Varanasi, notwithstanding a mishap while he was there when the stage collapsed with him on it.
He stayed in the news for the next few months for his pathbreaking and hugely popular television series Satyamev Jayate through which he addressed several social issues like female foeticide and dowry deaths. Aamir was honoured by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes for his efforts to address social problems in society and his work also resulted in meetings with the Rajasthan government and a Parliamentary committee.
Time magazine put him on it's August cover, making him the fourth actor after Parveen Babi, Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan to have been singled out for the honour.
The actor's latest suspense thriller Talaash also impressed audience and critics alike and kept the cash registers ringing at the box office.
Kareena Kapoor: Bollywood's social calendar had been blocked for the wedding of the year and, despite months of coyness and misdirection, Kareena married actor Saif Ali Khan on October 16 in a four-day celebration that included a sangeet, mehendi, a morning registration and evening exchange of vows in Mumbai and then a daawat-e-walima in Delhi. The actress also made news for the debacle of her over-hyped film Heroine which turned out to be a disaster. The recently released Talaash made up for the failure of Heroine somewhat. As 2012 draws to a close, Kareena finds herself mired in fresh controversy after being paid Rs 1.40 crores for an eight minute performance at Chhattisgarh's state celebrations.
Amitabh Bachchan: 25 years after being implicated in the Bofors case, Amitabh Bachchan received a clean chit when the main whistle-blower revealed that his name had been planted by Indian investigators. This year, August 2 marked 30 years of his “rebirth” after suffering a near-fatal accident on the sets of Coolie in 1982. 30 years ago, on August 2, 1982, a comatose Big B moved his toe, after doctors had all but given hope that he would recover. Big B describes the date as his second birthday. The year was also noteworthy for his Facebook debut. In just one day, Big B received almost 8 lakh likes, as befits the most followed Indian star on Twitter.
In August, Big B took part in the London Olympic torch relay and carried the flame for a distance of 300 meters amid loud cheers in London, a day before the opening ceremony of the Games.
Next came his 70th birthday party on October 10, a red carpet affair with the who's who of Bollywood in attendance, including Tamil superstar Rajinikanth, the late Yash Chopra, Waheeda Rehman, Shashi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi. The party was also the public debut of his 11-month-old granddaughter Aaradhya.
Ajay Devgn: He had three films this year with Tezz and the superhits Bol Bachchan and Son Of Sardaar, but that's not why Ajay Devgn is on this list of newsmakers. In November, Ajay and his production house took the mighty Yash Raj Films, whom he accused of using their influence to keep his film Son Of Sardaar out of theatres in favour of Jab Tak Hai Jaan starring Shah Rukh Khan. Both films released on November 13. His petition against YRF was rejected by the Competition Commission. But the Competition Appellate Tribunal ordered an inquiry into allegations made by him against YRF.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: Despite being on maternity leave for a large part of the year, Ash managed to stay in the spotlight. She had a celebrity visitor in the form of American TV queen Oprah Winfrey in January. She also received some very unwanted attention after she was pictured at a party held at the Ambani residence in May. Ash's full-faced appearance caused a huge debate about her failure to lose the post-pregnancy kilos, with many criticising her and others jumping to her defence. In May, she went to the Cannes film festival in the wake of the weight-debate and thumbed her nose at critics in a grey Elie Saab gown on the red carpet. The dress clung to every plus-size curve and Ash wore it with a big smile. The message was clear – she wasn't going to be thin for anyone. Cannes was also the setting for a year-long public obsession with her baby daughter Aaradhya after photographers captured a first glimpse of the tiny tot at Nice airport.
In August, Ash emerged from her maternity break with a jewellery campaign for Kalyan Jewellers. In September, she was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS, and was also announced as one of the guests to be interviewed by eminent British journalist Sir David Frost.
Sridevi: The original Queen Bee of Bollywood made a comeback to end all comebacks 14 long years since her last movie with her film English Vinglish. The film was a box office hit and the actress won accolades for her performance. She received a standing ovation at the Toronto Film Festival for her performance in the movie and graced the cover of prestigious Filmfare and Cineblitz magazines. At 49, Sridevi was a name to reckon with once again, no mean feat for any Bollywood actor.
Kristen Stewart: Twilight series star Kristen was photographed in a steamy clinch with Rupert Sanders, the married director of her movie Snow White And The Huntsman. The cheating scandal tore apart her relationship with boyfriend and Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson. She issued a grovelling apology to him and the couple have now reunited, though they are still on shaky ground and will spend Christmas apart. Kristen also made headlines for her nude scenes in the movie adaptation of Jack Kerouac's classic novel On The Road. Kristen also wore a series of risqué red carpet dresses at the premieres of Breaking Dawn 2 and On The Road. She followed up a sheer nude Zuhair Murad dress with a black lace jumpsuit by the same designer, and ended with a transparent Erdem mini and satin underwear.
Tom Cruise: Scientology's poster boy was rumoured to be considering breaking ties with the controversial religion in order to win back his wife of five years. It didn't work and Katie Holmes, who left Tom blindsided by filing for divorce in June, received primary custody of the six-year-old daughter Suri. The breakdown of his personal life was preceded by a performance as rock star Stacee Jaxx in the box office turkey Rock of Ages. He then spent the rest of the year filming his new movie All You Need Is Kill in London. The months were filled with Cruise spottings – among them, at an Indian restaurant where he ate a chicken tikka meal. He left Londoners annoyed by shutting down Trafalgar Square so he could film, and has hired a designer chopper to fly him round UK while's he's there.
