Out in the open: Here's to 2014, the year of open letters

This year many celebrities took to writing open letters either to voice their views on social issues or clear the air on speculations around their lives. From Deepika Padukone on her tussel with a daily to Sweta Basu's clarification on her quotes, here's a lookback:

This year many celebrities took to writing open letters either to voice their views on social issues or clear the air on speculations around their lives. From Deepika Padukone on her tussel with a daily to Sweta Basu's clarification on her quotes, here's a lookback:

Anushka Sharma



Early this year, there was a lot of buzz about actor Anushka Sharma, who turned up on Karan Johar's talk show with visibly stung lips. Once the teaser of Anushka's episode hit the tube, rumour mills were abuzz with reports that actor has ­undergone a lip surgery. Although she remained quiet for some time, in February she ­decided to post an open letter on her Twitter account as a reply to all the reports which made their way to the dailies.



"For a short while now I have been using a temporary lip enhancing tool and that along with make up techniques (I have learnt over the years) is the reason why there might be a change in the appearance of my lips. Having stated this fact let me very vehemently assure everyone that I have by no means gone 'under the knife ' or done any kind of 'plastic surgery' or undergone any intrusive procedure (sic)."

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Deepika Padukone



Actor Deepika Padukone reacted strongly when a Mumbai tabloid tweeted a picture of her with the caption 'OMG: Deepika Padukone's cleavage show'. The actor's prompt reply to the post was, "Yes, I am a woman. Yes I have breasts and a cleavage. You got a problem?" The controversy dragged on and finally the actor wrote an open letter to the publication in September about how women are objectified by the media.



"In a time where women should be applauded for making headway in a male-dominated ­society, we blur the lines between REEL and REAL life and dilute all our efforts by making a one-year-old back-sliding piece of news a ­headline. Digging out an old article and ­headlining it "OMG: Deepika's Cleavage Show!" to attract readers is using the power of ­influence to proliferate recessive thought (sic)."

Preity Zinta



Actor Preity Zinta had filed a case against her former boyfriend and ­businessman, Ness Wadia, after she accused him of molesting, abusing and threatening her inside Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. In July, the actor wrote an open letter on Facebook, where she expressed her side of the story.



"Ironically, what happened at Wankade is being diluted by every other fabricated story about my character except the truth of what happened. I'm sure the witnesses will speak the truth and I trust and believe that the Police will do their job fairly and quickly (sic)."

After a 27-year-old girl was raped by a cab driver in December in Delhi, actor Shenaz Treasurywala wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Naren­dra Modi, actors Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and industrialist Anil Ambani, voicing her concerns over the security of women in the country. The letter also spoke about the various incidents in the actor's life where she was eveteased and harassed.



"What good are all your speeches in the US or Japan or AUSTRALIA- NAMO, if no woman can walk freely in the streets even in broad ­daylight by herself in the CAPITAL OF OUR COUNTRY. Isn't this a SHAME? ... You are now RESPONSIBLE FOR US. I beg all of you fine ­gentlemen that I have addressed to help change the LAW. You are powerful men. I say, SHAME and PUNISH THE Gropers and Sexual offenders severely. KILL THE RAPISTS (sic)."

Anupam Kher



After the horrific ­massacre in Peshawar, Pakistan, this month, where a military school was attacked and many children lost their lives, actor Anupam Kher wrote an open letter to the ­terrorists exclusively for HT City.



"I have died when bombs go off in civilian areas, when bystanders are held hostage, when airlines are hijacked, when defenceless people are killed and when the unarmed are sold as slaves. But today, when you butchered over 130 children in cold blood in a school in Peshawar, I fear there is nothing left in me. I don't know what your objective was, but you have certainly reduced me to a dead man walking (sic)."





Shweta Basu



National award-­winning actor Shweta Basu was arrested in Hyderabad for her alleged ­involvement in a sex racket. Although she was given a clean chit later, there emerged a statement quoting the actor about her financial problems that led her to take this decision. Shweta wrote an open ­letter refuting the claims in December.



"Seriously?? Whoever you are, who imagined this statement, were you smoking funny cigarettes at work? Who talks like that? This sounds like a dialogue from some 80s Bollywood film. And why so many 'and' in that statement, go back to school amateur!



Thankfully my family, my friends and my circle of ­people didn't believe this statement. They know I do not speak like that. But, for the rest of India or anyone, anywhere on planet, for the last time: THIS IS NOT MY STATEMENT! (sic)"