We made a deep dive into the archives to look for the longest grudges that Bollywood celebs have held against each other. Some date back decades and still have barely been resolved.
1. Rani Mukherjee Chopra & Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
They went from being close friends to acquaintances who tend to avoid each other in public. It reportedly began when Rani replaced Aishwarya in Chalte Chalte. This apparently happened because Aishwarya’s then boyfriend, Salman Khan created a scene on set, which led to Aishwarya’s close friend, SRK, replacing Aish. And then when Aishwarya & Abhishek didn’t invite Rani to their wedding, the rivalry (though it never went public) was quite obvious.
2. Shah Rukh Khan & Aamir Khan
It all began in 2004 on the first season of Koffee With Karan, when Karan Johar asked Shah Rukh to say something to Aamir’s fans. Shah Rukh replied, “Guys, you got to find an icon that you can look up to.” This was followed by a blog post in 2008. Where Aamir wrote that his dog was called Shahrukh, “Shahrukh is licking my feet and I am feeding him biscuits every now and then. What more can I ask for?” However, SRK himself laughed it off and the two are finally on good terms now.
3. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan & Sonam K Ahuja
This controversy seems to have a lot of plot twists. It began in 2009, when Sonam became the ambassador of a beauty brand, which was endorsed by Aishwarya and she didn’t seem too happy about it. Soon after, Sonam in an interview said this about Aishwarya, “Aish has worked with my dad so I have to call her aunty na!” Then in 2011, the two were reported to walk the ramp at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
However, rumours state that Aishwarya refused to walk the ramp with Sonam and said that she would quit if Sonam was there. But all’s well that ends well, because the two seemed to have patched things up years later, since Aishwarya was spotted at Sonam’s wedding.
4. Katrina Kaif & Deepika Padukone
Allegedly, Ranbir Kapoor cheated on Deepika with Katrina and then went on to date the latter, after his breakup. This led to rumours about the two giving each other the cold shoulder in public. Deepika and Ranbir’s closeness was also stated to be the reason behind Katrina and his breakup. However, recently Katrina attended Deepika’s wedding reception, “A lot of water has flown under the bridge. For me, just the fact that she came and was very present was gracious,” Deepika said in an interview about Katrina.
5. Shah Rukh Khan & Salman Khan
This grudge began back in 2002, when Salman reportedly barged into the sets of Chalte Chalte to talk to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and caused quite a scene. Then in 2008, Salman welcomed SRK and Gauri Khan to Katrina’s birthday party, but took multiple digs at him for not doing a cameo in Main Aur Mrs Khanna. This argument turned into a physical one and the two had to be pulled apart by Katrina and Gauri.
However, the two have made peace with the fact that they will just never get along. In an interview, SRK shared how he told his kids about the fight, “I was very ashamed over the Salman issue. I hope it never happens to me again. I didn’t know how to explain it, and finally told them, ‘There are some people who just don’t get along. I’m not disturbed that Salman and I don’t talk. We’re too different. His life kuch aur hai aur mera kuch aur hai, and the train shall never meet.”
6. Ameesha Patel & Kareena Kapoor Khan
In 2000, Kareena Kapoor Khan made her debut with Refugee, but was actually supposed to be in Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, which she walked out of, only to be replaced by Ameesha Patel. Kareena on various occasions spoke about Ameesha and the film, “Hrithik’s dad spent five hours on every frame and close-up of his son, whereas not even five seconds were spent on Ameesha. There are portions in the film where she has pimples and under-eye bags on her face. If I were in the film, I would have definitely got a better deal, but I still feel that the attention would have been divided between us. So, I’m glad I didn’t do the film.”
This escalated when Kareena alleged that Ameesha’s mother was badmouthing her. “I carried Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai on my shoulders. Zindagi Ka Safar was riding on Amisha’s shoulders. What happened? See, I’m not fighting for the number 1 slot. If she wants the number 1 throne, she’s welcome to it. If she wants, I’ll even sit at her feet. If that makes her happy, I’ll be happy. I’m not competing with her. There’s no comparison. We don’t even do similar kind of movies. She can never do the movies I’ve done,” Kareena added.
7. Rani Mukherjee Chopra & Preity G Zinta
While the two have acted together, their rivalry at the box office seems to have gotten the better of them. The two had films clashing, including Hum Tum and Veer Zaara. Add to that, the Koffee with Karan episode in which Rani clearly stated that she and Preity are not friends and just worked well together for a while. She also added, “I think Preity talks too much, she should talk less. That’s the only thing I want to tell her through your show. I think she has an opinion about everything. I think she should cut that out.” Looks like no one has gotten over this grudge yet.
8. Shah Rukh Khan & Ajay Devgn
Allegedly, this grudge dates back to before Ajay and Kajol tied the knot. Apparently Kajol and SRK’s on-screen chemistry became a cause of concern for Ajay and he started disliking the actor. Things only got worse when recently, Son of Sardaar and Jab Tak Hai Jaan released together. Due to the screen slots being given to the latter, Ajay Devgn filed a complaint against Yash Raj Films with Competition Commission of India (CCI), which only added fuel to the fire. Now, it looks like the two are on good terms as they even shot a commercial together.
9. Salman Khan & Vivek Oberoi
Back in 2003, Vivek Oberoi held a press conference and stated that Salman got drunk and called him 41 times and threatened to kill him. Reportedly, Aishwarya Rai was dating Salman before Vivek and that is what angered Salman. However, after that press conference, Aishwarya broke up with Vivek as well, and Salman and Vivek are still not on talking terms.
10. Priyanka Chopra & Kareena Kapoor
Apparently, the two got along famously when they shot Aitraaz together. However, Priyanka’s sudden popularity post the film did not sit well with Kareena. Years later, while travelling together for a concert Priyanka and Kareena got into a fight, “They had a huge fight and were screaming at each other. In fact, they almost came to blows. They had to be literally pulled apart.”
There was also the Koffee With Karan episode where Kareena commented on Priyanka’s accent and Priyanka in return, commented on Saif’s. However, things seem to have died down between the two as Kareena recently praised the work Priyanka has been doing outside India when they appeared on a Koffee With Karan episode together. Priyanka even responded to the comment saying, “Thank you for acknowledging my work. I really admire her for being that way for me. I am grateful for words that came from her.”
11. Amitabh Bachchan & Shatrughan Sinha
An on-screen rivalry that leaked into real life. In his autobiography, Anything But Khamosh, Shatrughan stated that Amitabh beat him mercilessly and so he decided to walk away from films with the actor. “There was a fight sequence in Kaala Patthar which I had been told would be an equal fight. But along with fight master Shetty who is no more, it was changed to Amitabh beating the hell out of me, beating me constantly until Shashi Kapoor separated us. At this point, I had to put my foot down and protest that this was not what had been narrated to me. I had to argue this out and shooting was stopped for three to four hours which irked Amitabh.”
He added that, “People say that Amitabh and I made a dynamic pair on screen but if he did not wish to work with me, if he felt that in Naseeb, Shaan, Dostana or Kaala Patthar, Shatrughan Sinha bhari pad gaya, it didn’t affect me. There were so many films that I dropped out of and returned the signing amount.” However, years later, Abhishek and Sonakshi continue to state that their fathers are on good terms.
12. Karan Johar & Priyanka Chopra Jonas
It began with an article that stated that a director-producer was making bitchy comments about Priyanka. To which Karan Johar responded by tweeting, “Using their hired PR machinery and hiding behind so called “friends” to get news into tabloids is nothing but spineless and lame!!! Some people need to wake up and smell the KOFFEE!!! Get a reality check before its too late!!! Grow up!!! and don’t mess with goodness….” The context behind the tweet? Priyanka and SRK’s growing closeness which did not sit well with Karan, who is a good friend of Gauri Khan.
“I picked up the phone and reacted like a pressure cooker. Then I realised it wasn’t worth it. I called her and said I was turning 40. I have a great EQ (emotional quotient) with her. I’ve shared several warm moments with PeeCee. Since I am the older one, I decided to be mature,” Karan said in another interview in 2012 about inviting PC to his 40th birthday party. The two have since called truce and are quite comfortable with each other now.
13. Shah Rukh Khan & Shirish Kunder
Shah Rukh Khan allegedly slapped Farah Khan’s husband, Shirish Kunder at Sanjay Dutt’s party in 2012. According to an eye-witness at the party, “Khan refused to acknowledge Kunder at the party. Even when Dutt escorted SRK outside the venue to introduce him to a close friend, Kunder unabashedly followed them. Kunder placed himself right behind SRK and murmured something into his ear. An annoyed SRK, who was actually preparing to leave the party, turned around, held Kunder by the scruff of the neck, and forced him to sit on a sofa near the nightclub’s exit.” SRK was then saved by Sanjay Dutt and escorted out of the party.
SRK later clarified that “though there had been a disagreement between him and Shirish, there had been no assault.” Shah Rukh and Farah seemed to have put this behind them now, and even did another movie Happy New Year together.
Which one surprised you the most?