Kriti Sanon and Alia Bhatt won the Best Actress award at the 69th National Film Awards for Mimi and Gangubai Kathiawadi, respectively.
Kriti Sanon feels Alia Bhatt was ‘phenomenal’ in Gangubai Kathiawadi. She also shares her excitement about Pankaj Tripathi’s National Award win for Mimi.
Both Kriti Sanon and Alia Bhatt won the National Award for Best Actress for Mimi (2021) and Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022), respectively, this year. The actors exchanged a note of appreciation on social media and expressed their joy on sharing the top acting honour. And now, Kriti, in an exclusive chat with News18, reveals that she picked up the phone on Alia after the award was announced and had a hearty chat.
Lauding Alia, she tells us, “I’ve always admired Alia as an actor and she was phenomenal in Gangubai Kathiawadi. We’ve both played the title role in our respective films and it’s a proud moment to be sharing this prestigious award with her! I called her up and both of us were just too excited.”
Pankaj Tripathi, who played a pivotal role in Mimi, also won the National Award in the Best Supporting Actor category for his performance in the film. Talking about the same, Kriti remarks, “My excitement was doubled when I saw Pankaj ji has won for Mimi too. I called him up and we spoke. He’s visiting his hometown right now. I’ve great regard for him. He’s one of my most favourite co-stars and I truly always wish and pray for the best for him. I’m so happy that he’s getting all the love and validation he truly deserves.”
When Kriti received the news of her win, she was at home, caught up in a meeting. Recalling the moment, she says, “I was actually in a meeting which was happening at my house itself when the awards were being announced, and my phone just started buzzing. I had to excuse myself from the meeting and that’s when I got to know that I had won. I was just extremely overwhelmed and requested them to just hold the meeting and I ran down to hug my parents.”
Quiz her about their reactions and the Adipurush and Shehzada actor tells us, “It was just so overwhelming for us all. Everyone got emotional. It is a huge deal. This will always be an extremely special moment in my life.” As for celebrations, the Sanons along with their close friends indulged in a cosy house party on Thursday night. Prod her further and Kriti states, “I was just at home with my family and some close friends. We ordered pizzas. The plan was to just take in the moment properly with the biggest of my support systems around me.”
But she’s quick to add that winning the National Award hasn’t really sunk in yet. “I’m just processing the win still. It, honestly, feels surreal and I just cannot express the feeling even now,” points out the 33-year-old.
For most artists, the National Awards is the ultimate form of validation. Does she think the same? “It’s definitely an achievement that one can only dream of. When you’re on the set, you only think about giving your best, for every film, for every character. I’ve a diary where I write my dreams and goals and yes this was definitely in there,” she says candidly.
The actor, who will next be seen in Ganapath: Part One, Do Patti and The Crew, further adds, “I didn’t know it would get fulfilled so soon in my career. I’m extremely grateful to the jury and audience who believed in me. This motivates me to dream bigger and take risks and work even harder.”
