The nominations list for Bollywood's prestigious honors, Filmfare Awards 2019 was released today. As expected some big names have popped up and once again it looks like the Awards have been more favorable towards commercial cinema as opposed to small budget films. Each year, the debate over commercial vs art films gets stronger and while popular belief is that the lines are blurring between the two, the recently released nominations list certainly doesn't prove the same. 2018 has been a great year for mid-budget films with superlative content. Yet, while the critics gave green signals to certain films based on their performances, in the award circuit, they are still struggling to find recognition. Here's looking at films and performances that Filmfare royally ignored.

1. Manoj Bajpayee's performance in Gali Guleiyan

Gali Guleiyan may not have punched numbers at the box office but does that strip away actor Manoj Bajpayee's fabulous contribution to it. Dealing with mental health at its fore, the film had Manoj Bajpayee play the role of Khuddoos whose traumatic childhood has resulted in his character embracing abandonment, he is a man trapped in his boyhood with a hope to rescue himself. Disappointed by the Filmfare snub, the actor even took to Twitter saying, "So used to the fact that all the films of mine which are highly acclaimed nationally and internationally don’t even get a place in the nominations list of so-called big mainstream awards here forget about winning. creative pursuit and exploitation continue....!" Manoj Bajpayee Rues Discrimination in Mainstream Awards.

Here's Manoj Bajpayee's tweet:

2. Mohammad Samad's performance in Tumbbad

It's clear how Indian award functions have a long way to go looking at the kind of recognition provided to actors. When a 11-year-old, Haley Joel Osment impressed us with his brilliant performance in The Sixth Sense, he was nominated in the Best Actor category at the Academy Awards in 1999. Cut to Bollywood and do we even hear a mention of Mohammad Samad, who is now 18 but managed to put up a thrilling performance in the critically acclaimed film Tumbbad. Samad was 12 when the film was shot and left a lasting impression of his work in the film. We're sorry why his work doesn't get any recognition at the supposedly big Bollywood awards. 64th Filmfare Awards: Complete List of Nominations for 2019.

3. Mrunal Thakur's performance in Love Sonia

Love Sonia is probably one of the most chilling films of recent times that dealt with the sensitive subject of sex trafficking. With a powerful supporting cast of Richa Chadha, Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao, the film's true soul remained its protagonist Mrunal Thakur. From being a popular face of Indian television to making it big with an internationally acclaimed film, there's no reason why Thakur should not have earned a nomination in the Best Actress Critics Choice category at the least.

4. Rasika Dugal's performance in Manto

Take a look at the nominations in the Best Actor in a supporting role female and you will find Swara Bhasker and Shikha Talsania get nominations for their performance in Veere Di Wedding but a gorgeously mastered, internalised performance of Rasika Dugal gets chucked. How do you explain that? While Nawazuddin Siddiqui was exceptional as Manto, the film equally drew its depth from his wife Safia's role played by a flawless Dugal. Shame on you, Filmfare for missing this one!

This is not the first time some incredible performances have lost out on getting recognition at the Filmfare Awards. We do expect the industry to get wiser each year but unfortunately, the economics seem to be getting in the way of celebrating creativity. Do tell us which performances do you think deserved a nomination at the Filmfare Awards this year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 13, 2019 09:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).