In one of my masochistic Youtube binges, I recently watched a clip of the Filmfare best actress award, and the nominees were Tabu/Andhadhun, Rani/Hichki, Neena Gupta/Badhai Ho, Korean Eyelid Tape/Padmawhat and Alia/Raazi.
I honestly was rooting for Tabu or Neena Gupta. I have not watched Hichki, and was not sure how well Rani pulled off the tics, maybe she did. But I adored Tabu's delicious ruthlessness in Andhadhun and Neena Gupta's subtle humor in Badhai Ho. I would have picked Neena any day because she has this uncanny ability to morph into the role she's offered, almost seamlessly.
Alia was good, and she had to carry an entire film on her shoulders, but there were multiple times she looked a little too suspicious, like I do when I sneak into the kitchen to steal ice cream. Alia understands nuance quite well but the Filmfare? What's next, the Oscar for Kalank?
What are your guys' thoughts?
Vyjayantimala wasn't the first choice for Chandramukhi. She wasn't even considered and in what would have been called a "desperate" move now, she approached Bimal Roy.
> . . . we wanted Meena Kumari as Paro, and Nargis as Chandramukhi. Meena Kumari would have been the ideal Paro --- she had Paro's quietness. Unfortunately, she could not do the role because [husband] Kamal Amrohi laid down certain conditions, which Bimalda did not agree with. I remember Meena Kumari broke down --- she was that keen to do the role.
> Nargis refused --- she wanted the lead role of Paro. Then we approached Bina Rai. She refused, too. Suraiya, too, wanted Paro's role.
> We then had to go for Suchitra Sen. She was very happy. It being her first Hindi film, we had to dub certain portions. She is a legend, yes. But her face was more cultured and sophisticated than required for Parvati. That is why I say Meena Kumari would have been ideal --- she had the simplicity of a middle class young girl who is not very educated.
> But ideal things do not happen...
> I did not approve of Vyjayanthimala [as Chandramukhi], but we had no option --- no one wanted to play Chandramukhi, and we were committed to our distributors. We were in dire straits, and Bimalda's unit was big. He never compromised in the making [of his film]. That meant expenses. And we needed money.
> Actually, Vyjayantimala came to our rescue. She came to Bimalda and said, "I am ready if you think I can do it." She was, of course, a very good actress, but she was too young for Chandramukhi, as envisioned by Saratbabu.
> -Nabendhu Ghosh, scriptwriter of Bimal Roy's 'Devdas'
Rediff reports that the casting was met with mockery and apprehension.
> When industrywallahs heard he had cast the dancing star as the courtesan Chandramukhi, they were snide, "Why don't you take comedian Kishore Kumar as Devdas?"
I personally don't understand why as Vyjayantimala had already showed her acting and dancing skills through Nagin.
Subsequently, she won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. She refused to accept it saying that Chandramukhi wasn't a supporting role and had as importance as Paro in the narrative.
> “The Filmfare magazine tore me to pieces after that. But I stood my ground. Bimal da had maintained there were two main actresses — Suchitra Sen and I,” says Vyjayanthima
... keep reading on reddit ➡
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
WINNER: Alex Borstein – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
D’Arcy Carden – The Good Place (NBC)
Sian Clifford – Fleabag (Amazon)
Betty Gilpin – GLOW (Netflix)
Rita Moreno – One Day at a Time (Netflix)
Annie Murphy – Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
Molly Shannon – The Other Two (Comedy Central)
