From
lip-locks
to
skimpy
garb,
Indian
cinema
has
witnessed
vetoes
imposed
by
the
censor
board
as
well
as
the
industry
itself.
Very
few
are
aware
of
the
ban
on
one
of
the
greatest
actors
of
Bollywood
-
a
ban
that
shook
the
film
industry
by
its
roots.
Yes,
we
are
talking
about
the
ban
that
emerged
on
the
face
of
Mr.
Amitabh
Bachchan!
Many
years
ago,
a
show
was
being
organized
by
'Stardust'
magazine
for
the
Army
Wives.
Most
of
the
actors
from
the
film
fraternity
had
agreed
to
be
a
part
of
the
show.
Just
then,
Bachchan
received
a
call
from
Saira
Banu,
saying
that
Dilip
Kumar
wanted
to
meet
up
with
him.
On
the
day
of
the
meeting,
almost
all
the
top
actors
from
the
industry
were
present
in
order
to
discuss
how
ethical
it
would
be
to
get
associated
with
a
magazine
that
endorses
yellow
journalism.
There
were
several
rounds
of
meetings
where
the
stars
pondered
over
this
issue.
After
a
heated
argument,
it
was
decided
that
the
Stardust
Army
Wives
show
must
be
boycotted.
It
was
also
decided
that
the
stars
would
ban
all
the
magazines
that
included
gossip,
and
that
no
star
would
give
interviews
to
such
publications.
Stardust,
of
course,
was
in
the
lead.
But
as
hypocritical
as
the
celebrities
could
get,
they
started
calling
Bollywood
magazines,
asking
them
to
take
interviews
quickly.
Suddenly,
the
magazines
had
more
content
than
they
could
accommodate.
The
stars
declined
any
such
incident
having
taken
place.
There
was
also
an
interview
of
Bachchan
in
Stardust,
taken
by
journalist
Uma
Rao.
The
actor
was
furious
when
he
learned
that
the
article
spoke
against
his
family.
He
fired
the
journalist
but
it
was
too
late.
The
magazine
was
already
in
circulation!
Interestingly,
there
was
somebody
leaking
out
the
minutes
of
the
mid-night
meetings
on
a
regular
basis.
These
behind-the-door
secrets
were
getting
published
openly
in
Stardust!
Apparently,
Stardust
had
its
sources
that
were
none
other
than
some
of
the
stars
present
in
those
meetings.
Amitabh
Bachchan
said
that
he
always
knew
this
was
inevitable.
The
information
of
the
meets
was
bound
to
leak
out
someday.
This
gave
him
yet
another
reason
to
ban
Stardust.
In
the
year
1975,
the
country
saw
an
Emergency
declared
by
Indira
Gandhi.
Reportedly,
Amitabh
Bachchan
was
very
close
to
the
Gandhi
family.
He
is
said
to
have
used
his
influence
in
attempting
to
shut
down
Stardust.
Censors
got
harsh
on
Stardust
for
carrying
items
on
Amitabh.
There
was
a
strong
censorship
imposed
on
the
press,
due
to
which
magazines
other
than
Stardust
had
to
suffer
as
well.
Stardust
avenged
the
deed
by
imposing
a
ban
on
Bachchan.
All
the
film
magazines
got
together
to
form
an
association.
They
decided
not
to
print
anything
about
the
actor,
in
any
of
their
publications.
In
his
defense,
Amitabh
said
that
he
had
banned
the
press
from
entering
his
sets
almost
till
the
end
of
1989.
However,
he
had
nothing
personal
against
any
particular
magazine.
Nari
Hira,
MD
of
Stardust,
said
that
he
had
started
taking
Bachchan
for
granted,
which
is
why
he
was
shocked
to
learn
about
the
mid-night
meetings.
He
never
imagined
that
Bachchan
could
join
hands
against
them.
But
he
agreed
upon
the
existence
of
a
cold
war,
and
a
misunderstanding
between
AB
and
Stardust
that
lasted
for
many
years.
Hira
also
went
on
to
saying
that
this
misunderstanding
could
have
been
solved
if
AB
had
contacted
the
magazine
directly.
Surprisingly,
Amitabh
also
owned
up
for
him
folly.
He
said
that
he
was
wrong
in
being
so
adamant
and
banning
the
press
-
that
he
should
not
have
turned
down
Stardust
for
interviews.
And
while
everybody
wondered
as
to
who
would
finally
emerge
supreme
in
this
cold
war,
AB
and
Stardust
decided
upon
a
temporary
truce.
In
1982,
AB
met
with
a
fatal
accident.
That
is
when
Stardust
offered
a
peace
treaty
to
him
by
publishing
an
article
on
him
in
the
magazine.
The
superstar
was
moved
by
this
act,
which
tried
to
prove
that
Stardust
considered
AB
as
family.
But
when
he
recovered,
the
cold
war
continued.
In
1989,
AB
found
himself
stranded
in
the
Bofors
scandal.
His
movies
failed
to
make
it
big
at
the
B.O.
The
actor's
PRO
went
around,
begging
for
the
press
to
write
about
him.
When
he
approached
Stardust,
a
journalist
insisted
that
AB
must
directly
get
in
touch
with
the
MD
of
the
publication.
So
he
met
up
with
Nari
Hari
at
his
residence.
The
duo
sat
down
and
cleared
all
the
misconceptions
that
had
taken
place
over
the
years.
Hira
was
humbled
by
AB's
graciousness.
He
decided
to
call
for
a
ceasefire!
And
thus,
the
15-year
cold
war
came
to
an
end.
The
ban
on
Bachchan
was
finally
lifted.