‘My father felt very bad’: Vidya Balan on not getting any nominations for Bhool Bhulaiyaa

Vidya Balan's portrayal of Manjulika in Bhool Bhulaiyaa got her great recognition, but no awards. She will reprise the role in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3.

Vidya Balan will soon reprise her iconic role of Manjulika in Anees Bazmee's horror comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. In an interview with Galatta India, she opened up about how she didn't even receive any nominations for her memorable performance in the first part, helmed by Priyadarshan in 2007. (Also Read – Vidya Balan reveals why she rejected Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2: ‘If something goes wrong, everything will be in vain’)

What Vidya said

Vidya Balan opens up on her drastic weight loss

“At that time, I was told that it's a remake of a Malayalam film so my performance wasn't eligible for a nomination. So I said, ‘Okay, fine.’ But I remember my father felt very bad. You move on. Kabhi hota hai, kabhi nahi hota (it happens sometimes, sometimes it doesn't), but your parents, your family feel bad. He used to say, ‘Kitna achha performance hai, award dena chahiye tha’ (It's such a great performance, they should've given you an award). But I said, ‘Sirf mera performance nahi tha saal mein' (there wasn't just my performance in the entire year). Because it's always relative. Someone else got it because their performance was loved more than mine. But he would feel damn bad,” said Vidya.

Seventeen years after the original, Vidya will now reprise her role of Manjulika, a Bengali ghost, in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, also starring Kartik Aaryan, Triptii Dimri, Rajpal Yadav, Sanjay Mishra, Vijay Raaz, and Madhuri Dixit, who also plays another version of Manjulika. The film will release in cinemas this Friday on November 1 on the occasion of Diwali.