The 68th Filmfare Awards 2023 was held on Thursday night in Mumbai with Salman Khan as its host. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi won the maximum awards, taking home nine black lady statuettes out of its sixteen nominations. Alia Bhatt won the Best Leading Actress award for playing the fierce and powerful titular role in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film.
The actress expressed her gratitude in a lengthy note on her Instagram, in which she thanked the filmmaker, the audience, and her entire family for the win including the Bhatts and the Kapoors. She even remembered her late father-in-law Rishi Kapoor in the heartfelt note she shared, along with a few pictures from last night including the one posing with the 'Black Lady'.
"The day we wrapped Gangubai Kathiawadi, with shaking hands and heavy hearts, I remember telling my wonderful crew. "No matter the outcome, just the experience of shooting the film, learning, and growing under the guidance of Sanjay sir - that's my blockbuster." I left that set a different person - and that was ONLY because of this amazing team!", wrote Alia.
Thanking her director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the actress added, "Gangu...meri jaan...my alter ego, belongs to you Sanjay sir. Thank you for believing in me, so I could believe in myself. I will forever be in your debt! I've always said you make the world believe in magic - and if on this journey I can be even half as hard-working, half as dedicated and driven as you - I will consider myself very fortunate!".
"To my audience - my fans, my family! Thank you for being my constant inspiration to do better. Always. My whole team, I am me, only because of you. You keep me in one piece", the actress, who also owns Eternal Sunshine Productions, further expressed gratitude to her fans and her entire team.
Lastly, she thanked her entire family including 'gorgeous husband' Ranbir Kapoor and 'baby girl' Raha for their constant support. She stated, "And last but not the least! My beautiful family that grounds me and keeps me steady - Mama, Papa, Tanna I love you...my other mom — my mom-in-law & my father-in-law up there whose blessing is always with me. My gorgeous husband, for hearing me rant about my day for hours and motivating me whenever I was down and out! And my baby girl, who wasn’t there at the time, but I will continue to thank for the rest of my life for the joy and peace she brings to me. Eternally grateful."
This was Alia's fifth Filmfare win as she has previously won the Best Actress award for Udta Punjab, Gully Boy, and Raazi, and the Best Actress Critics award for Highway.
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