'Kaafi mazak ban chuka hai': Divyenndu calls out Bollywood award shows, labelling them 'fake' and money-making machines

Divyenndu has sparked a conversation about the credibility of Indian film award shows, alleging that organisers replaced him with another winner when he was unavailable to attend.In a candid interview with film critic Faridoon Shahryar, Divyenndu, best known for his role in 'Mirzapur', spoke bluntly about the state of Bollywood's award culture. While acknowledging that he won Best Debut for 'Pyaar Ka Punchnama' at awards, the actor said things have changed drastically since then.He said, "Ab kaafi mazak ban chuka hai award shows ka. Mere saath kayi baar aisa hua hai ki voh bolte hain, 'Hum aapko yeh award dena chahte hain,' aur main shoot kar raha tha aur maine bola, 'Main aa nahi paaunga, sorry,' toh unhone happily bola, 'Okay.' And they gave the award to someone else (Award shows have become quite a joke now. This has happened with me many times — they tell me, ‘We want to give you this award,’ but when I say I’m shooting and won’t be able to attend, they happily say, 'Okay,' and then give the award to someone else)."The actor didn't stop at attendance. He questioned the very foundation of how award shows operate today. He added, "The whole problem is people don't see it as an award show; it's a money-making asset. Uspe aap has hi sakte hai bethke; usko aap dil pe bhi nahi laga sakte. Iska film industry se kuch lena dena nahi hai (You can only sit and laugh at it; you can’t take it seriously or to heart. It has nothing to do with the film industry anymore)."Divyenndu was last seen in the Netflix series 'Glory', directed by Karan Anshuman and Kanishk Varma, which received mixed-to-positive reviews. He next appears in 'Peddi', directed by Buchi Babu Sana and starring Ram Charan, Janhvi Kapoor, Shiva Rajkumar, and Jagapathi Babu. The film hits theatres on June 4.