'Bollywood, Thoda Hasna Seekh Lo': Sona Mohapatra Supports Alia Bhat Amid Award Show Hosting Trolls

Singer Sona Mohapatra has come out in support of Alia Bhatt amid the massive trolling that the actress has been facing for her hosting skills during a recently held award show. In a video statement that Sona shared on Instagram, she reminded everyone that it was a live show and, therefore, there was no scope for editing. The singer explained that it is difficult to perform live on the stage like this and accused Bollywood of being a ‘dead’ audience.

“I’m weighing in on the Alia Bhatt Screen Awards monologue, which has been all over the place and being trolled. First things first, guys, it was live. Live means no retake, no edit, no filter, no rethink. And honestly, doing such authentic work in Bollywood is a big stunt. Most desi actors won’t

even pick up that mic. She gave it a shot and that itself is amazing,” Sona said.

“It is brave. Secondly, let’s talk about the audience. Performance is not only on stage when it’s live. The audience and the room in front of you also have to perform. It’s their duty. And the Bollywood room, they are dead on arrival. I know I’ve performed in these rooms many times I can give you the example of the Mijwan fashion show to illustrate. Shabana Azmi ji does it to raise funds for the Mijwan weavers. And it is full of stars, designer outfits, flashbulbs. Even when they’re around for a good cause, they’re like dead. Their vibes there will be, ‘My outfit is better than hers’, ‘Which important actor, director’s eye can I catch?’ And oh my God, it’s a tough, tough audience,” the singer added.

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Sona also questioned those comparing Alia to her co-host, Zakir Khan, and reminded everyone that the latter is a professional comedian. “He’s an ustad of stand-up. Try getting him to act or dance like Alia, you’ll get your answer. Or importantly, he was facing a Bollywood audience, not their direct competition. So they would have been even kinder to him,” she said.

She concluded by asking Bollywood to learn to laugh a little. “It won’t kill you,” she said.