Sorry Alia, Yami Gautam deserves the award

Most movie lovers felt Yami Gautam’s performance in Bala needed to be recognised. She played a very complex role of a smalltown girl infatuated by the social media to the point of being fully aware of how shallow she had become in the quest of creating an image of herself.

Yami, to everyone’s surprise, simply nailed it. No one saw that performance coming. She deserved the Best Actress Award because she was the Best Actress! No doubt, hands down, the finest female lead performer of 2019. She has now posted her protest on social media. And many of her colleagues from the entertainment industry have come forward to acknowledge the truth of her grievance.

Yami can take solace in knowing that in the past, some grand performances by the greatest stalwarts have gone unnoticed by the Filmfare awards jury. RD Burman was not given the Filmfare award for his songs in Amar Prem, one of the finest movie soundtracks of all times. And Ghulam Mohamed’s immortal music score in Pakeezah was bypassed that year (1972) for Shankar-Jaikishan’s Beimaan. Does anyone remember a single song from Beimaan today?

The songs of Pakeezah will resonate for as long as civilisation exists.

When Pakeezah had been so savagely snubbed at the Filmfare awards, veteran Pran who had been given the Best Supporting Actor Award for, yes again, Beimaan, refused to accept his award in protest. In fact, the iconic Raakhee Gulzar was offered the Best Actress award for, giggle giggle, Beimaan. She refused.

“I did nothing even remotely award-worthy in that film,” she explained to me.

How many actors today would have the guts to take a high moral ground and say no to an award if they were offered the same on a platter? Not too many, I’m afraid. Much as I love her performances, the right thing for Alia Bhatt to do would be to pick up that Filmfare trophy from her shelf and drive down to Yami Gautam’s place with it. And tell her that it is rightfully hers.

Otherwise, to quote a lyric from the history-making multiple Filmfare award winner Beimaan: Jai bolo beimaan ki jai bolo.