Why is Mini Mathur trending? The truth behind the Alia Bhatt hosting controversy

It has been more than a week since Alia Bhatt hosted the Screen Awards 2026 in Mumbai, but the persistent trolling has not ended yet. Several viewers have slammed her act, calling it ‘forced and fake’. The criticism has sparked wider conversation online, with many calling for a return of seasoned anchors at such awards shows. Anchor and actor Mini Mathur has seemingly echoed the same sentiment.

Did Mini Mathur throw shade at Alia Bhatt?

Earlier this month, Alia took on hosting duties at the Screen Awards 2026 in Mumbai, sharing the stage with comedian Zakir Khan and actor Sunil Grover. Days later, a content creator named Janani posted a video critiquing her performance.

Sharing a video of Alia hosting the event, Janani said, “This was hard to watch. This is not easy to get through. I think the only person who accurately covered the reactions throughout this show was Raj Babbar… What is going on with award shows? I don't think I've been excited for any Indian award show for a few years now… If Alia Bhatt wasn't hosting this one, I wouldn't even know this existed.”

The creator also criticised Alia’s hosting skills. “This is what you get when you have made your entire brand and personality as the hot girl, the unapproachable girl, the cool girl, and all of a sudden to pivot into, ‘I'm a quirky, dorky, just like the rest of you’ is just not working.”

“It was so forced, it felt so fake. I wasn't buying it. I don't think she was buying it… And to stick her between two comedians didn’t help in the way that they thought it would, because one of them is a misogynist, and the other one was doing an Aamir Khan bit. I don't think Aamir Khan is that relevant anymore that we find an imitation of him funny, and the whole Aamir Khan not coming to award shows is way too old and beaten to death.”

The creator broke down the points that didn’t work for the show and wrote, “I don't know who to blame here, the writing or the delivery of the jokes, because nobody cares about Alia Bhatt shooting a film with Sanjay Leela Bhansali in 2016 and now in 2026. To be a good host, you need a degree of believable self-awareness. I don't think Alia has. I think the only person who's successfully been able to do that is Shah Rukh Khan. This award show was a mess.

“I feel like the entire budget went on getting Alia Bhatt to host, because tell me why, even when she was cracking jokes, they didn't even have the budget to include a fake laugh track. They just kept the awkward silence in. That makes no sense.”

The content creator then stressed that it is important to bring hosts back. “Where's Simi Garewal? Where's Manish? Where's Shaan hosting Sa Ra Ga Ma Pa? We need to bring back good hosts because this isn't working,” she ended.

Janani’s views in the reel found endorsement from Mini Mathur who gave the post a thumbs up. For those unversed, Mini Mathur has been a popular TV anchor in the late 1990s and early 2000s and was also a VJ. She notably hosted six seasons of the singing reality show Indian Idol.

Taking to the comment section, Mini Mathur wrote, “Thank you. Someone finally said it”.

Internet reacts

Mini’s comment did not go unnoticed on the internet. One social media user shared, “yesss please show them how it’s done”, and another writing, “maam...Ure the GOAT!!”

One social media user wrote, “we miss days when shows were hosted by OGs like yourself”.

Mathur was last seen in Call Me Bae, the Amazon Prime Series that released in 2024.