Neha Sharma talks about her experience with Bollywood award shows and why she feels they are not genuine
Aamir Khan is one of the most prominent and acclaimed actors of his generation. Yet, for over nearly three decades, the star has been absent from most award shows for Hindi films. He has said that he does not agree with the awards given out at most major Bollywood award shows. A number of other celebs have echoed this sentiment over the years. The latest among them is actress Neha Sharma, who says that she gave up on attending these events as she does not see them as genuine.
In a candid chat with DNA, Neha spoke about being from outside the industry and being taken aback by a number of things when she entered the industry. One of them was how most award shows are pre-decided. “I don’t go into award shows anymore because I don’t feel like they are genuine. So, I don’t want to be part of it. Obviously, this is something new to me I went there once and I realised they already know who is winning what and it’s not real,” she says.
The actress recalls her early days in the industry, when she had debuted with Crook. She tells us, “When my first film came out, I realised there is a Best Debut category, and I wasn’t nominated. I thought I wasn’t that bad, was I. But then I got to know there is a lot of lobbying there for nomination. Then there is lobbying to win. If you are not part of any lobby, you are not going to be part of the awards. I quickly realised that it’s all taken already. They know who we have to make win and who should performing, and who we have to make the next star.”
The actress clarifies that she is not bitter about how things are, but just stating facts. “I don’t want to be cynical about it but it is how it is. You realise that is how the game is,” adds Neha. She also has a word of advice for actors looking to move away from that sort of validation. She argues, “All you can do is work hard, do your work, and if it’s written in the stars for you, then the audience will support you somewhere and you will get your due sooner or later. And if you don’t then there is something better written for you somewhere.”
Neha made her OTT debut with the series Illegal in 2020. The legal drama stars her in the lead as an ambitious criminal lawyer from Delhi. The third season of Illegal is set to release on JioCinema on May 29.
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