Amidst online backlash over her sixth Filmfare win for her role in Jigra, with many questioning whether she deserved the honour, actor Alia Bhatt took to social media to pen a thank you note. She expressed her gratitude for the recognition and said that this will always remain close to her heart.
Alia Bhatt pens thank you note
On Sunday, Alia took to Instagram to pen a gratitude note after winning the Best Actress trophy for her performance in Jigra. It marked her sixth Best Actress Filmfare Award, a new record. With her latest win, Alia beat Kajol and Nutan for the record, both of whom had won five Best Actress awards in their careers.
“This one will always stay closest to my heart … not just for the story we told, but for the incredible people who gave it life,” Alia wrote.
The actor expressed gratitude to director Vasan Bala, co-star Vedang Raina, and the rest of the film team for their contributions.
Alia shared, “@vasanbala, thank you for seeing it the way you did. @vedangraina, #VivekGomber, #ManojPahwa, @rahulr_23, @yuvvrajjviijan , @dheerhira.. thank you for the honesty you brought to every frame.”
“So grateful to @filmfare for the honour, and to everyone who found a piece of themselves in this film. I wish I could’ve been there to hold that moment in person, but my heart is full all the same,” she said, adding, “It felt truly full circle @karanjohar, @dharmamovies, @grish1234 and @eternalsunshineproduction coming together for this one. And I’ll always be thankful for my real-life Jigra, @shaheenb for being my calm through it all.”
Concluding the note, Alia quoted a line from film’s song Tenu Sang Rakhna, “For now, all I can say is ‘Taara na disse, ya chaann kho jaawe. Tenu sang rakhna’.”
Alia faces backlash
Meanwhile, social media users are not convinced with Alia’s win for Jigra. It has sparked a discussion on social media, including Reddit.
“At least, they should stop nominating other actresses, it’s disrespectful to them, or scrap the best actress category and officially declare Alia as the forever winner,” one social media user commented. Another wrote, “I don’t know much Bollywood, but even I can recognise names like Waheeda Rahman, Nutan, Sridevi to be iconic ones which my parents talked about or we grew up hearing about them in popular culture. If, say, in a TV show, there is a female character who likes acting very much, people will refer to her as Sridevi or Madhuri Dixit. No one will ever think of Alia even in their 4-5th attempt.”
Alia faced criticism for her thank you note as well, with many criticisng her in the comments section.
About Jigra
Jigra was produced under the banner of Dharma Productions and presented by Viacom18 Studios and Eternal Sunshine Productions. The film underperformed at the box office when it released during Dusshera 2024, making it Alia’s lowest opener since 2014’s Highway, which was the second film of her career. The film revolved around a devoted sister (Alia) who embarks on a harrowing journey to rescue her brother (Vedang). The performances earned critical praise.
