Are Bollywood stars shunning desi awards events?

Bollywood has more than its share of awards functions but quite a few Bollywood stars seem to have decided to speak openly against them.

A famous example, of course, is actor Aamir Khan, who has openly spoken about not being enamoured by awards shows. The last awards show he attended was in 1996 when he was nominated in the Best Actor category for Rangeela (1995), only to lose the award to Shah Rukh Khan for Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995).

But ironically, the actor has lent his support to the National Awards and Hollywood's Academy Awards.

Upset over her film not bagging a nomination, Sonakshi Sinha recently vented her anger on social media

Apart from him, scores of other actors are said to believe that awards functions are a rigged affair. This list includes the likes of Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn and Sonakshi Sinha; and the latest entrant is actress Kangana Ranaut. At a press conference held on Thursday evening, the actress said, "These days, there are so many awards functions happening and attending the same means spending time and money on makeup and styling. All this makes it an expensive affair. I am not saying that these awards are not genuine, but there are so many now that it seems like you are giving them away just to make everyone happy."

Aamir Khan (left) is known to not attend Bollywood awards functions, while Salman Khan (right) believes that mass appeal trumps awards

It may be pointed out that Salman has always preferred mass adulation to critical recognition. He is known to have said that his fans liking his work and thronging cinema halls to watch his films is a big enough award for him. At a recent event, he said, "I am happy with the rewards coming my way. People like my work and me. This helps my films make money and I am more than happy with it. I am okay if I don't get any awards."

Emraan Hashmi certainly agrees with this sentiment. The actor, known as Bollywood's serial kisser, pointed out at a public appearance, that he may not be the darling of award ceremonies, but he's ‘the people's champion'. "I'd rather be declared a winner by the nation, than a jury of a dozen odd people. At the end of the day, it's the audience that makes a film popular; award functions just want to ride on that wave of fame. If I had to pick between a billion people and a few jury members, I'd choose the former on any given day," he said.

Ajay Devgn has not attended an awards do in the past 15 years

Actor Ajay Devgn, who has starred in many money-spinners, believes that all award functions are rigged. "You know how the business operates; it's a money-making thing. They have to sell the event to a TV channel promising them that big names will turn up at the function. So whoever agrees to attend and perform at an awards do, ends up bagging an award. I haven't been to an award function in 15 years," he said at a recent event.

Sonakshi Sinha too expressed her disappointment over one of her films not being nominated at a recent awards function. She vented her anger through twitter.

This begs the question: are these comments made due to genuine discontent or is it just a case of sour grapes?
Now that's up to you to decide.