She is widely regarded as the number one actress in the Hindi film industry today. Alia Bhatt, arguably, has had the best success rate when compared to the actresses who have made their debut in the last ten years. She is working in some of the best films made by the biggest directors in India and yet, she remains to be the grounded person she was when she started out.
What kind of training did you have to go through to match steps with Madhuri Dixit?
I am luckily not matching steps with Madhuri ma’am as she is not dancing along with me in the song (“Ghar More Pardesiya”). I went through a year-long basic Kathak training and then, I trained for two and a half months to get the choreography right. It was a long and tough process and I hope the audience likes the way I have danced in the film.
You are a part of some of the biggest film we will see in Indian cinema in the next two years. What is that one thing that draws you towards a script?
I do not look for anything in particular. Sometimes, I do wish to work with certain directors and when they come to with good scripts, I immediately say a yes. Sometimes, a good script comes to me unexpectedly. This is why I make it a point to meet everybody who wants to narrate a script to me.
You are doing ‘Inshallah’ with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. You had auditioned for him as a child for ‘Balika Vadhu’.
No, I had auditioned him for ‘Black’. I think it was a terrible audition and that it why he did not cast me (laughs). That role was eventually played by Ayesha Kapoor. He wanted me to do ‘Balika Vadhu’ later but the film never got made.
How do you unwind after a hard day at work?
I watch TV shows, read and work out. Every day, I make it a point to set aside one or one and a half hour to relax and do things that I love doing. I recently watched ‘Delhi Crime’ and loved it.
Will you be taking Telugu lessons for S.S. Rajamouli’s film?
I have already started taking lessons. I have a trainer who teaches me for one hour every day.
You recently announced the name of your production house Eternal Sunshine Productions. What is the kind of content you intend to produce?
I would like to back films that I believe in. I will be acting in some of the films and will be producing but there might be a few in which, I will not be involved as an actor. I want to be more of a creative producer than a line producer. I thought this was a good time for me to get into production.
