Throwback: When Aishwarya Rai was betrayed at an award function

From Aamir Khan to Kangana Ranaut, many Bollywood celebs don't attend awards shows because of many reasons. One of them is politics behind the selection of the winners. On the popular TV chat show called Koffee with Karan, we have seen many stars speaking about it and calling award functions “fake and biased.”   

A report published in Deccan Chronicle states popular stars charge anything from Rs 75 lakh to Rs 3 crore to perform at such functions. Also, some of them insist on receiving their award before their performance.

A few years ago, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan also faced such politics and got betrayed at an award show. According to Deccan Chronicle, "A couple of years ago, Aishwarya Rai was informed she was getting the best actress award for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Guzaarish. But her name was changed at the last minute on the insistence of a spiteful leading man."

Not just Aishwarya, late actress Sridevi also faced such betrayal, a senior filmmaker shared, "They were going to give the best actress award to Sridevi for her performance for the movie English Vinglish. It was mentioned on their website too. At the last minute, they gave it to another actress. Sridevi and her husband were shocked and decided to boycott all the award shows of the season thereafter."

FYI: In the year 2012, when English Vinglish was released, Vidya Balan won the Filmfare award for her film The Dirty Picture. On the other hand, Guzaarish was released in 2010; Vidya Balan was awarded the best actress award for her role in Paa.

Rang De Basanti director, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra once said, "I am embarrassed and ashamed to see the film fraternity propagating and celebrating gender bias. We have awards functions where this bias is turned into television entertainment."

He had also said, "The popular awards are useless. They are big marketing events with no substance. A glaring omission was my film Oh My God, which didn't get any nominations in the popular awards." 

Paan Singh Tomar is one of the best movies made in Bollywood featuring talented actor like Irrfan Khan and directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia. The movie got good reviews and audiences loved it. However, it was ignored in the popular awards. “These awards are promoted and organized for generating revenues from satellite sales,” says Dhulia.

Writer Prasoon Joshi says "They're designed to entertain viewers. Awards functions are like consumer products, and as long as we recognize them for what they are, we will be fine."