In Bollywood, Vidya Balan is one of the most critically acclaimed actors of the past 20 years, male or female. The Dirty Picture, Kahaani, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Parineeta, Ishqiya, No One Killed Jessica; Vidya Balan has delivered numerous stellar performances.
Balan made her Bollywood debut with 2005’s Parineeta opposite Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan. Directed by Pradeep Sarkar and written by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Parineeta established Balan as a leading actor in the Hindi Film Industry.
Vidya Balan in parineeta looked ethereal. pic.twitter.com/iN9kcC4ui8 https://t.co/UTtCHv5Bk5
— ً (@SheethalS5) January 3, 2024
Despite all her subsequent success, Balan didn’t come from a Bollywood family and had to struggle to get to where she is today. During her recent appearance on UNFILTERED by Samdish, Balan spoke about her experience as an outsider in Bollywood.
She specifically talked about her experience during Filmfare Awards 2008, which was hosted by Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan, where she was given the Na-Real Award for her costumes in the movie Heyy Babyy, directed by Sajid Khan.
Speaking about the same, Balan said, “When they told me they’re going to give me the Na-Real Award, I said, ‘Why me? My clothes are not just my choice, right?’ At that time, I was too new to have an opinion on anything. So they said, ‘No, we’re just doing this fun segment so we’re going to give you this award.’ So I said, ‘Fine, but I’m going to share it with the costume designer and the director, and they said, ‘No, you mustn’t do that.’ And that, I think, is not nice.”
The Na-Real Awards is a mock award given to actors during the Filmfare Award shows, much like the Golden Raspberry Awards in Hollywood, except that the Golden Raspberry Awards are specifically catered to the worst of Hollywood any given year and doesn’t take place in the middle of, say, the Academy Awards just to demean people for the sake of ‘fun’.
Balan did name her director (Sajd Khan) and costume designer (Manish Malhotra) when given the Na-Real Award, facing backlash from their friends and supporters within the film industry.
She continued, “That night, I was shattered. I was shattered because I was very alone. I realized that, yes, it does make a difference when you don’t come from a film family because no one outside you is looking out for you. It felt like bullying to me. It was, it undoubtedly was. Just because I don’t come with a certain shield, you can’t… I thought it was a joke so it was okay. But when I realized I was the only one being made fun of, it wasn’t funny anymore.”
Vidya Balan was most recently seen in Do Aur Do Pyaar alongside Pratik Gandhi, Ileana D’Cruz, and Sendhil Ramamurthy.
See Aslo: Vidya Balan Says ‘Male Stars Are Uncomfortable’ With Female-Led Films; ‘Women Are Doing Better Than They Are’