Marred by domestic violence

Even the glitz and glamour of stardom cannot hide the scars that are left behind after a high profile relationship is shattered due to domestic violence, writes

In a movie-crazy nation, where people look up to celebrities for their passionate and enduring love stories, it is quite shocking to hear stories about domestic violence and abuse. With cases of former Bigg Boss contestants Mandana Karimi and Bobby Darling, now known as Pakhi Sharma, filing cases against their spouse for domestic violence, it shows us that there can be trouble in paradise. Here are some celebrities who have been victims of domestic violence and physical abuse.

Preity Zinta

She was the quintessential bubbly girl of Bollywood and, on the peak of her career the actress decided to buy an IPL team with then businessman beau Ness Wadia. Soon, crack developed in their relationship, Preity lodged a complaint against Ness accusing him of physically assaulting her and threatening to make her disappear. People have alleged that he has even slapped Preity at a party before.

Karisma Kapoor

Even the first family of Bollywood has been a victim of the horror of domestic violence. Karisma Kapoor had a very turbulent relationship with husband, Sunjay Kapur. Karisma filed a complaint against her then estranged husband claiming that he asked his mother to slap her because she was unable to fit in a particular dress post her pregnancy. She also alleged that before their honeymoon, Sunjay and his brother did calculations to figure out how much she would be worth in terms of her wealth.

Neetu Kapoor

He has always been infamous for his temper, as is also reflected on his Twitter account. It was alleged that on an evening in 1997, Rishi Kapoor got hammered and like every time he had alcohol in his system, he decided to take it out on his wife. But, this time, he became very violent. So, Neetu called the cops up that night and filed a complaint against Rishi. It is also said that Ranbir couldn’t stand the loud scuffles between the two when he was a kid and would wait on his staircase in the middle of the night for them to end.

Yukta Mookhey

The former beauty queen is also a victim of domestic violence. In 2012, she submitted a written application in the Mumbai police station against her husband, Prince Tulli, alleging harassment and abuse. Following which the police had carried out an inquiry but no FIR was registered. She also filed a dowry harassment case and accused him of physically abusing her and forcing her to have unnatural sex.

Rati Agnihotri

In 2015, veteran actress Rati Agnihotri registered a police complaint against her architect-husband Anil Virwani. The couple had been married for nearly 30 years then and with a son, Tanuj, whose acting career had just taken off a while back. In her statement, Rati confessed that it has been continuing for a long time now and attributed Virwani’s sinking business as an apparent reason for his violent streak. The couple has now patched up.

Rhea Pillai

Leander Paes and Rhea Pillai were considered to be married in the public eye.

Aishwarya Rai

As we all know, the Aishwarya-Salman affair had generated a big storm when their break-up story hit newspapers and tabloids. It was alleged that Salman became an alcoholic and would become abusive when drunk. Though the actress did not speak up immediately after the break-up, she openly admitted at the Cannes Festival before the screening of her film Provoked’, a few years later that she was physically abused and stalked by the actor. When reports of their alleged separation came out, it was revealed that the two were in fact not married and were in a live-in relationship. They even have a daughter together. Rhea filed a complaint against Leander and his father Vece Paes citing domestic violence.

Shweta Tiwari

It took her a lot of time for Shweta to vent her pent-up anger against her abusive husband Raja Chaudhary. The couple wed in 1998 and has a daughter, Palak. Shweta was living a happy life until Raja became insecure about her growing popularity. It is said that he would often create a scene on the set of her shows and forcibly manage her money. Sources say she initially decided to bear the torture for the sake of their daughter, but finally filed for a divorce in 2007, accusing Raja of domestic violence.

Zeenat Aman

She was in an abusive relationship with married actor Sanjay Khan who hit her following which she suffered a severe eye injury, thereby making it public. Her marriage to actor Mazhar Khan was also an unfortunate one as Zeenat Aman continued to face the trauma of an abusive husband until he died of cancer.