Biggest Bollywood Feuds Amid Kangana Ranaut-Taapsee Pannu Row

Written By: Entertainment Desk

Aug 27, 2026 14:44 IST ⓘ

As Kangana Ranaut and Taapsee Pannu’s war of words flares up again, we revisit Bollywood’s biggest feuds.

Bollywood can wrap a three-hour family war in time for the end credits, but its real-life fallouts rarely resolve that efficiently. One interview becomes a headline, the headline returns as a talk-show question, a friend chooses a side and – before anyone can say “misunderstanding” – an awkward moment has acquired sequels, spin-offs and a fan army of its own. The latest reminder comes from Kangana Ranaut and Taapsee Pannu, whose feud is unusual for one very simple reason: according to Taapsee, the two women have never even met.

ALSO READ | Kangana Ranaut Vs Taapsee Pannu: Complete Timeline Of Their UGLY Rivalry

The public sparring began in July 2019 after Taapsee praised the trailer of ‘Judgementall Hai Kya’ without naming Kangana. Kangana's sister Rangoli Chandel accused her of failing to acknowledge Kangana and called her a “sasti copy”. Taapsee responded with humour, arguing that if Kangana was the country's highest-paid actress, perhaps that technically made Taapsee the cheaper version. She also pointed out that nobody owned the copyright to curly hair or an honest opinion. The dispute became nastier in 2020, when Kangana described Taapsee and Swara Bhasker as “B-grade actresses” during the industry's heated debate over nepotism and outsiders.

There appeared to be room for a ceasefire in February 2026, when Taapsee said she held no bitterness and would greet Kangana if they crossed paths. That window slammed shut in August. At the India Today Woman Summit, Taapsee said their different ways of speaking reflected their respective “upbringings” and allowed people to decide “who comes from where”. Kangana interpreted this as an attack on her parents, revived “sasti copy” in Instagram Stories, called Taapsee's upcoming ‘Gandhari’ a “B-grade” film and questioned why Taapsee's parents had not produced “someone original”. Taapsee first posted the cryptic “Hence, proved”; when asked again at a ‘Gandhari’ event on August 25, she told reporters that the matter would have ended long ago if people stopped asking both women about it. In other words, one side wants the closing credits while the other has just revived a seven-year-old catchphrase. The row remains unresolved.

ALSO READ | Kriti Sanon’s Raksha Bandhan Ad Pulled Down: What Happened And Why Kangana Ranaut, Rahul Gandhi Got Involved

Amid Kangana and Taapsee's latest war of words, here is a look back at some of the biggest Bollywood feuds:

1. Salman Khan vs Shah Rukh Khan

Bollywood's biggest bromance once went into a five-year interval. Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan had been friends and co-stars – most memorably in ‘Karan Arjun’ – before a heated argument at Katrina Kaif's birthday party in July 2008 sent their equation into deep freeze. A great many dramatic explanations have circulated since, but neither actor supplied a dependable public blow-by-blow; the safest established fact is that a verbal confrontation took place and the two kept their distance afterwards. Their frostiness then became an annual industry event, with every award function, party and interview examined for signs of thaw.

The famous patch-up arrived at politician Baba Siddique's iftar party in July 2013, where Salman and Shah Rukh hugged in front of the cameras. It was not merely a photo-op truce: SRK later appeared in Salman’s ‘Tubelight’ and Salman in SRK’s ‘Zero’, before their Tiger-and-Pathaan crossovers turned the reconciliation into a box-office attraction. Today, they publicly speak with warmth and show up for one another. The proposed ‘Tiger vs Pathaan’ may have faced production uncertainty, but the real-life “versus” ended years ago.

2. Kangana Ranaut vs Hrithik Roshan

This was not a playful exchange of talk-show barbs. Kangana Ranaut and Hrithik Roshan worked together in ‘Kites’ and ‘Krrish 3’, but their private equation became a public dispute in early 2016 after Kangana referred in an interview to the attention-seeking behaviour of “silly exes”. The comment was widely understood to refer to Hrithik. She maintained that they had been in a relationship; he consistently denied it. Hrithik sent her a legal notice demanding an apology, and Kangana replied with a counter-notice. The argument soon expanded to disputed emails, an alleged impersonation account and competing accounts from lawyers and family members. The central allegation – a romantic relationship – was never publicly established, and the two stars’ versions remain irreconcilable.

The police investigation into Hrithik's complaint concerning the alleged email account eventually ended with a closure report submitted in December 2023; crucially, that outcome did not decide which actor's account of their personal relationship was true. Even that was not the final scene. In August 2026, a viral “apologise to Hrithik” trend pulled the dispute back online. Hrithik cautioned against changing sides merely because public perception had shifted, while Kangana accused him of fuelling harassment and asked him not to “tease” her or embarrass his partner, Saba Azad.

3. Salman Khan vs Vivek Oberoi

On April 1, 2003, Vivek Oberoi called a press conference and alleged that Salman Khan had telephoned him 41 times in one night, abused him and threatened him. The confrontation was widely linked to Vivek's reported relationship at the time with Aishwarya Rai, who had earlier dated Salman. The episode became a career-defining burden for Vivek, who later said that he endured professional boycotts and threatening calls in its aftermath.

Vivek subsequently apologised more than once and even made a public conciliatory gesture towards Salman at an awards event in 2009, but there was no visible handshake to complete the arc. By 2025, Vivek described the episode as immature, said he had let go of the bitterness and acknowledged that the pain it caused his parents was harder to forget. Salman has not publicly reciprocated with a reconciliation.

4. Karan Johar vs Kajol

Karan Johar and Kajol were not casual party friends; she was central to his journey from an unsure assistant on ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ to the director of ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’. That history made their 2016 rupture genuinely surprising. As Karan's ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ prepared to clash with Ajay Devgn's ‘Shivaay’, Ajay released a recorded conversation in which self-styled critic Kamaal R Khan claimed that Karan had paid him Rs 25 lakh to favour ‘ADHM’. Karan said his self-respect, reputation and upbringing would not allow him to dignify the allegation with an answer. Kajol, however, retweeted Ajay's post with one word: “Shocked”.

For Karan, that word did the damage. In his 2017 memoir ‘An Unsuitable Boy’, he wrote that Kajol's reaction had validated an accusation he found humiliating and declared their friendship finished. Yet babies succeeded where box-office diplomacy had failed: after the birth of Karan's twins Yash and Roohi, he sent Kajol their photographs, she responded warmly and the two gradually reopened communication. By November 2017, Karan was calling her “more than special” again. Karan even appeared on Kajol and Twinkle Khanna's talk show ‘Two Much’ in 2025.

5. Kareena Kapoor vs Priyanka Chopra

Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra worked together in ‘Aitraaz’ in 2004, but the decade's relentless ranking of leading women soon turned their equation into a much-discussed rivalry. Its most replayed chapter arrived through separate appearances on ‘Koffee With Karan’. Kareena wondered where Priyanka had acquired her accent; Priyanka shot back that she had got it from the same place as Kareena's then-boyfriend, now husband, Saif Ali Khan. It was the sort of immaculate return serve for which talk-show producers probably send thank-you hampers.

Time removed the sting. In 2019, the two actresses shared the ‘Koffee With Karan’ couch, laughed about the old exchange and discussed how their lives had changed. Kareena later dismissed the grand “catfight” narrative as rubbish, acknowledging that she had said foolish things when she was younger and suggesting that the industry had enjoyed pitting ambitious women against one another.

6. Kareena Kapoor vs Bipasha Basu

The confirmed core of this feud is less cinematic than its legend. During the making of ‘Ajnabee’ in 2001, Kareena Kapoor and debutante Bipasha Basu fell out over costumes and designer Vikram Phadnis. Co-star Amita Nangia later recalled that both women wanted the same designer and argued on set. In subsequent interviews, Bipasha said she would not work with Kareena again, while Kareena claimed the fight had become Bipasha’s “only claim to fame”. Magazine and gossip accounts later added a slap and the racist “kaali billi” insult to the story, but those sensational details were never independently established by a reliable report.

The public sniping eventually stopped without a grand reconciliation ceremony. Bipasha later said she would greet Kareena cordially if they met, which is hardly a friendship bracelet but is a considerable upgrade from “never again”.

7. Govinda vs David Dhawan

Govinda and David Dhawan made several films together and practically built a comic universe before shared universes became fashionable. ‘Raja Babu’, ‘Coolie No. 1’, ‘Saajan Chale Sasural’, ‘Hero No. 1’ and ‘Partner’ made their names feel inseparable; their final release together was ‘Do Knot Disturb’ in 2009. Govinda later said he had suggested the idea that became David's ‘Chashme Baddoor’ but discovered that Rishi Kapoor was playing the role he expected. In 2015, he also complained that David had not stood by him during a career slump. Govinda's wife Sunita Ahuja offered a more practical version in 2024: David wanted Govinda to consider secondary roles, while the actor still saw himself as a leading man.

There was eventually a personal patch-up. Govinda confirmed in 2023 that they had made peace even before being photographed together at a Diwali party, and David visited him in hospital after his accidental gunshot injury in 2024. Yet reconciliation did not restart the hit factory. In 2026, Govinda still said he had wanted an 18th and 19th film but felt David no longer wished to move forward with him. He also described the director as professionally honest but not loyal to him.

8. Kangana Ranaut vs Karan Johar

When Kangana Ranaut appeared on ‘Koffee With Karan’ in February 2017, she did not merely roast the host; she gave an entire industry debate its most durable slogan. Sitting across from Karan, she called him the “flag-bearer of nepotism” and “movie mafia”, adding that he would play the snooty antagonist in a film about her life. Karan initially took the blows on his own couch, then replied at a London event that he was tired of Kangana playing the “victim card” and “woman card” and said she could leave the industry if it terrorised her so much. Kangana answered that she was playing the “badass card”. The feud subsequently became larger than either participant, especially after the death of Sushant Singh Rajput in 2020 intensified arguments about access, camps and insiders.

For years, Kangana kept attacking Karan's films and professional circle. In 2023, for example, she called ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ creatively poor and accused him of recycling his own cinema. Then came an unexpected 2026 softening. Kangana said she had “made peace” with Karan and did not consider him a bad person – before describing him, with classic Kangana economy, as proudly “superficial, flaky and flashy”.

9. Aamir Khan vs Shah Rukh Khan

Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan's 2000s rivalry was fuelled by the usual combustible material: competing claims to the top spot, award-show jokes and two very different public personalities. It reached peak absurdity in 2008 when Aamir wrote on his blog that “Shah Rukh” was licking his feet while he fed him biscuits. He was referring to a dog belonging to the caretakers at his Panchgani property – a dog he said had already been named before he bought the house – but the imagery did exactly what everyone could have predicted. Aamir clarified the joke and apologised to Shah Rukh's fans; he later visited SRK's home and apologised to his children, Aryan and Suhana, for hurting them.

The competition did not disappear overnight, but adulthood eventually defeated the punchlines. In 2025, Aamir described that phase as “childish”, said the rivalry had faded 10 to 15 years earlier and called Shah Rukh a good friend. He also revealed that their get-togethers, often with Salman, could stretch until morning. The two now publicly support one another, and Aamir says the three Khans are open to sharing a film if the right script arrives.

10. Kangana Ranaut vs Deepika Padukone

This feud began with a compliment that landed badly. After winning an award for ‘Happy New Year’ in early 2015, Deepika Padukone dedicated it to Kangana for her performance in ‘Queen’. Kangana replied that she would have appreciated hearing the praise personally; Deepika then called her, and Kangana described their conversation as emotional and heartfelt. Peace lasted until the social calendar intervened. Deepika invited Kangana to a ‘Piku’ screening and celebration, but did not attend Kangana’s ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ screening. Kangana said the lack of response hurt. In 2016, Deepika called the supposed cold war “one-sided” and “irrelevant”; Kangana countered by asking why Deepika continued to call and invite her if she was so irrelevant.

The disagreement became more serious in 2020 when Kangana attacked Deepika's mental-health advocacy and questioned her account of depression – comments that went far beyond party invitations. The two never announced a reconciliation, and Deepika largely stopped engaging publicly. There has, however, been one notable thaw: in April 2026, Kangana backed Deepika in the debate over eight-hour working days for actresses who are mothers.

11. Salman Khan vs Arijit Singh

At an awards ceremony in 2014, host Salman Khan asked a casually dressed Arijit Singh whether he had fallen asleep. Arijit replied, “Aap logon ne sula diya”. A throwaway attempt at humour turned into a remarkably durable professional rupture. In 2016, after learning that his version of a song would not be retained in Salman's ‘Sultan’, Arijit posted and then deleted a public apology, pleading with Salman to let the recording remain in the film. He told The Indian Express that Salman was angry and that he had been trying to meet him. The song was ultimately released in another singer's voice.

The patch-up finally came through music rather than another apology. Arijit sang ‘Leke Prabhu Ka Naam’ for Salman's ‘Tiger 3’ in 2023 – the first time his voice was used for the star – and Salman promoted the track. Their professional relationship has continued, making this one of the rare Bollywood feuds with an audible ending.

12. Kartik Aaryan vs Karan Johar

In April 2021, Dharma Productions announced that it would recast ‘Dostana 2’ “due to professional circumstances” after Kartik Aaryan had already filmed for the project. Reports blamed creative differences or alleged unprofessional conduct, but Dharma deliberately maintained what it called a “dignified silence”, and Kartik did not provide a detailed counter-version. With no new casting announcement and rumours that the actor and Karan Johar had fallen out, the unfinished film became shorthand for an outsider-versus-establishment narrative neither man fully endorsed on record.

By 2023, they were appearing together again. Karan later said they had met, discussed their issues internally and decided to let bygones be bygones, comparing the disagreement to complaints within a family. Dharma backed Kartik's ‘Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri’, released in December 2025, and followed it with further collaborations including ‘Naagzilla’ and a new suspense thriller with director Sandeep Modi. In four years, Kartik travelled from a conspicuous Dharma exit to multiple Dharma projects. If that is not a properly financed peace treaty, what is?

13. Salman Khan vs Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Salman Khan helped bring Sanjay Leela Bhansali's first film, ‘Khamoshi: The Musical’, to the screen and delivered one of his most admired performances in the director's ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’. Yet the two went years without a full-fledged reunion, and their differences were routinely described as a feud. In 2019, ‘Inshallah’ was supposed to end that wait, with Salman starring opposite Alia Bhatt. The film was abruptly shelved before shooting, reportedly over creative differences. Salman announced that the project had been pushed but promised an Eid release anyway; Bhansali moved on, and the cancelled film generated years of speculation about demands, scripts and wounded egos that neither side fully verified.

Here is the twist: Sanjay Leela Bhansali insists the professional fallout did not destroy the personal relationship. In 2024, he called Salman the only actor he remained friends with and said the star continued to call, care for him and stand by him even when a project failed to happen. Salman, too, had said SLB would never betray his film and should make it the way he wished.

Bollywood's most famous fights rarely end in the same fashion. Salman and Shah Rukh turned reconciliation into cinematic fan service; Kajol and Karan found their way back through family; Kartik and Karan let new contracts do the talking; Vivek moved on without receiving a public truce. Others, like Kangana and Hrithik or Kangana and Taapsee, remain one interview or Instagram Story away from another chapter. The only lesson is that in an industry built on retakes, even a feud that appears finished should never be trusted without checking the latest headlines.