ALIA UNPLUGGED

The evolution of the versatile actor has been steady and solid. She opens up to Bazaar India about what the future of Bollywood looks like, the legacy she would like to create, and how she cancels out the noise.

- SONAL VED

It’s an afternoon shoot with Alia Bhatt. The set isn’t a usual studio or a makeshift production set, but a living, breathing art exhibit space. Titled Vichitra, the show by Tejal Patni, is past its prime viewing week, extended just to give Alia a canvas to paint her many facets— something that she has been doing deftly if her filmography is anything to go by. 

Alia started off as the effervescent Shanaya Singhania in Student Of The Year (2012)—who, at first, seemed like an extension of Kareena Kapoor’s character Poo from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001)—and then quickly escalated to deliver award-winning performances in Highway (2014) and Udta Punjab (2016) as Veera Tripathi and Mary Jane, respectively. It made the audience take notice of the versatile actor who was relatable in her role as Kaira in Dear Zindagi (2016) struggling with mental health issues, and transform into a mature and equivocal Gangubai in Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022). 

On set, Alia is involved, eager for more takes, check her photos and angles often, and marvel with childlike enthusiasm as we open her up to Tejal’s fantastical world. Here’s more from our interesting conversation:

Sonal Ved: From your debut in 2012, you have charted over a decade of diverse roles that have seen you embody wealth, trauma, poverty, deceit, romance, patriotism, and much more. How do you move from one role to the other, and how do you then bridge the gap between you as an individual, and the characters that you play?