Why Mala Sinha Boycotted Phalke Academy Awards?

Legendary actress Mala Sinha, who not only wowed Indian viewers but also impressed Hollywood so much that they offered her roles in the 1960s, is upset with the committee that has just bestowed the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award upon her. The award function was on April 30.

She said, “I won’t accept the Phalke award. They have been discourteous and insulting to me. Is this any way to treat an artiste?”

“They’ve done grave injustice to me. They haven’t even mentioned my name on the invitation card! When members of the Phalke committee, including their chairperson, came home to request me to take the award for being what they called a legendary artiste, I was happy to accept it. But when I saw the invitation card for the event, I was shocked. My name was not there with the other winners of the award,” she said.

“Asha Bhosle and Pam Chopra (who was to receive the award on behalf of her late husband Yash Chopra)… This is insulting. It would be better if they had straightaway slapped me physically instead of insulting me in this way,” she added.