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 Renowned Bollywood actress Vidya Balan shared her initial encounter with nepotism in the industry, which took place at an awards ceremony following the release of her film 'Heyy Babyy' in 2007.

In a recent podcast conversation, Vidya Balan disclosed that she had experienced nepotism in Bollywood firsthand. She recounted an incident at the 2008 Filmfare Awards where she felt bullied after enjoying a successful year prior.

Balan received the "Na-Real" award for her costumes in Sajid Khan’s 'Heyy Babyy'. Reflecting on this, she stated, “When they told me they’re going to give me the Na-Real award, I said, ‘Why me? My clothes are not just my choice, right?’”

Despite her reservations, she agreed to accept the award as part of a fun segment. However, she insisted on sharing it with the costume designer, Manish Malhotra, and the director, Sajid Khan. Yet, she was discouraged from doing so. Balan expressed her displeasure, remarking, “No, you mustn’t do that.”

The actor revealed that she discovered a fellow actor who was supposed to share the award with her backed out at the last moment. Consequently, she was the only recipient of the awkward trophy. Despite this, she proceeded to name the director and costume designer anyway, which Balan admitted "got her into trouble."

“There were reactions within the fraternity or whatever, their supporters, their friends,” she disclosed.

"That night... I have to admit, I was devastated," confessed Balan. "I felt utterly alone. It hit me hard that not having a film family makes a difference because there's no one outside of you looking out for you."

When asked if it felt like 'bullying', she affirmed, "Undoubtedly, it was."

Notably, Vidya Balan starred alongside Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, and Boman Irani in Sajid Khan’s comedy flick 'Heyy Babyy', which was both a critical and commercial success.

On the professional front, her latest film 'Do Aur Do Pyaar', a romantic comedy directed by Shirsha Guha Thakurta and featuring Ileana D’Cruz, Pratik Gandhi, and Sendhil Ramamurthy, hit theaters on April 19.