Vidya Balan, in a new interview, opened up about being humiliated at an award show. The actress recalled the time when she was just starting out in the industry and agreed to be a sport by taking part in a fun segment at the awards event. However, the Bhool Bhulaiyaa actress remembered being singled out and facing repercussions for speaking out at the show. 

Vidya Balan recalls getting a ‘Na-real’ award for her costumes in Heyy Baby 

 On the podcast Unfiltered with Samdish, Vidya Balan took a walk down memory lane and recalled getting a ‘na-real’ award in 2008. She mentioned that the organisers told her she would get the award, as a mockery, for her costumes in the 2007 Sajid Khan directorial Heyy Baby. The actress asserted that she had no role to play in the costumes and that if she got the award she would name the director and costume designer Manish Malhotra. However, the organisers forbid her to do so. 

Vidya recalled being on board with the plan until she reached the venue and found that the other actor being conferred with the award had backed out. She decided to go ahead with her plan to name the director and costume designer upon receiving the award. She mentioned facing backlash from her friends and supporters from the industry for doing so. She said, “At that night, I was shattered.“

Vidya Balan Says She Was A Target Of Nepotism

In the same conversation, Vidya shared that a part of the reason as to why she was targeted was because she did not hail from a film family. She shared, “I was shattered because I was very alone. I realised 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.” She asserted that she was sport for taking a joke but not when she got to know that she was the only one being targetted. 

Vidya shared, “It was, it undoubtedly was (bullying). 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 realised I was the only one being made fun of, it wasn't funny anymore”. At the award event, Vidya was awarded a Na-real award (in the shape of a coconut) for her funny costumes in Heyy Babyy. In her acceptance speech, the Bhool Bhulaiyaa actress said, “I was asked to trust Sajid (Khan) and Manish (Malhotra)”, which did not sit well with the director.