Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; December 20, 2019)

Her last film Kabir Singh grabbed eyeballs for the content and the controversies that followed, while also putting her in the spotlight. In her upcoming film Good Newwz, Kiara Advani will be seen in a contrastingly different character from Preeti of Kabir Singh. The new project also unites her with Akshay Kumar, the actor who had launched her in Bollywood. In a chat with BT, Kiara talks about working with Kareena Kapoor Khan, who teases her about her strict diet, clears the misconception about her being from a film family and shares her opinion on the multiple views that were fired at Kabir Singh. Excerpts...

Your Bollywood debut, Fugly (2014), was backed by Akshay Kumar as a producer. Cut to five years later, you are sharing screen space with him in Good Newwz...
Back then, we had met only at the film’s poster shoot, and then, during the trailer launch. It was only during Good Newwz that I spent a lot of time with him. Akshay sir is an entertainer. He loves to entertain people both on and off the camera. He makes sure that throughout the shoot, his set is happy and always laughing. He arrives early in the morning on the set and gets everyone excited at work. During the course of the shoot, I developed a bond with him. Later, with our next film Laxmmi Bomb, it grew further.

You play a loud Punjabi character (Monika) in Good Newwz, which is totally unlike Preeti, your character in Kabir Singh. Which one do you associate more with in real life?
Cuts in… Yes, Monika is a complete contrast to Preeti. In real life, I believe that I am vibrant. Monika is an uninhibited, free-spirited Punjabi girl, yet, she is innocent, quirky and cute in her own way. I love the equation between Monika and Honey (Diljit Dosanjh’s character). They are set to turn parents, but they are like best friends to each other. Matching up to Diljit was a lot of fun. He is gifted when it comes to comedy.

His spontaneity and timing are on point. I was also excited to team up with Kareena (Kapoor Khan), who I have been a fan of. She is so effortless and chilled out that it made me feel extremely comfortable. She used to always make fun of my diet, for eating the same food repeatedly. She can have a banana and a cheese toast and look amazing, but I just eat veggies for lunch and dinner. She would always tease me by asking, ‘So, what have you ordered today, the same old thing?’ (laughs!)

Five years ago, you were launched in Bollywood as ‘Kiara’ Advani. Do you miss being known by your real name, Alia?
Even though I changed my first name, Alia will always be my middle name. My screen name is Kiara Advani, but if you see my official documents or social media handles, my name is Kiara Alia Advani. Actually, at the time when I was being launched (in 2014), Alia Bhatt was already a star. So, it made sense to not add to that confusion. Also, I wanted my own identity. The makers of my debut film and I thought that we should come up with a new name. I felt that the new name should be liked by me, as it is going to stay with me throughout my life. I had liked the name of Priyanka Chopra’s character, Kiara, from the film Anjaana Anjaani (2010). In fact, I even thought that whenever I have a daughter, I would name her Kiara. So, when I had the opportunity to rename myself, I thought that name was apt. While I was happy, it took my parents a while to adjust to it. And I am not surprised, after all, they had named me Alia.

It is believed that you come from a film family...
Cuts in…No, I don’t! That is misinformation, so I might as well correct it.

... Late actors Ashok Kumar and Saeed Jaffrey are your step-great-grandfather and great-uncle, respectively...
It’s not a blood relation, but a distant one, which is why I don’t consider myself from the film industry. Also, I have never met them. It would have been amazing had I met them. I have only heard stories about them from my grandmother, my fraternity and journalists. The only connection my family has with the film industry is that my parents are good friends with Salman Khan and Juhi Chawla. I remember going on the sets of her film, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000), as a kid. I was awestruck being on a set. She was not there, but the team was shooting an action sequence with Shah Rukh Khan.

Salman has mentored several young actors in the industry and has launched them, too. Wasn't there any exchange of dialogue between your parents and him on that front?
I believe in destiny and Fugly was meant to be my first film. Having said that, I am fortunate that through my parents, I can reach out to Salman sir anytime. He had called up my parents to congratulate them when Kabir Singh did well. He told them that as an actress, I was doing good and that he was happy for me. I reach out to him for advice. He is very approachable. He told me that I just need to work hard and good offers will follow.

Your last film Kabir Singh proved to be a success at the box office. However, since its release, and even till date, it faces flak from a certain section of the audience for its alleged toxic masculinity and misogynistic scenes. What’s your take on it?
To answer the first part of your question, Kabir Singh has been a game changer for me. But, I cannot forget the project that I did for a digital platform in 2018. With that, the audience took notice of me as an actor. Filmmakers wanted to work with me after seeing my performance. This year, Kabir Singh happened and won me a place in the hearts of the audience. We were recently promoting our song Chandigarh Mein from Good Newwz in Chandigarh, Akshay sir and I were a part of this concert with 8,000 people in attendance. The minute we walked up to the stage, the crowd started screaming, ‘Preeti, Preeti’, and I froze! That was the first time I felt it that this is something new, different and special. It had never happened before. So, I consider both these projects as the turning points in my career. About the second part of your question, yes, there is a section of the audience that got impacted in a different way. I think it is fair, as everyone has their own opinion. It is good that people came out and spoke how they felt after watching the film. Personally, I have two views, one is as an actor and the other, as a person. As an actor, I played a part where I had to live the life of a character called Preeti. It was challenging for me to enter the world of Preeti — live, behave and react like she did. As a person, I may not agree with certain things and the way Preeti was in the film.