Showing posts with label Alia Bhatt interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alia Bhatt interview. Show all posts
The volume and the speed at which I work now are different because I have a child-Alia Bhatt
9:33 AM
Vinay MR Mishra (BOMBAY TIMES; December 31, 2025)
Having completed 13 years in the film industry, Alia Bhatt finds herself at a point defined less by speed and more by intention – also shaped by her journey into motherhood. Looking back, the actress says her relationship with work remains instinct-led. “I don’t really look at my career in phases or milestones. The way I chose films earlier is the same way I choose them now – by trying to do different things, setting myself up for new challenges and constantly putting myself outside my comfort zone,” she tells us.
Meanwhile, life has expanded beyond the set, and what has evolved is the pace. “Of course, the volume and the speed at which I work now are different because I have a child. But it’s a comfortable pace, and I’m happy with it. I like doing one film at a time and giving it all my energy. Earlier, I would do two or three films simultaneously, but I don’t want to do that anymore,” she says.
Alia’s connection with cinema remains deeply emotional. “Movies make me happy. I’m finding ways to stay connected to that magic in different ways now, not just as an actor. I’m also producing content. We’re developing projects that will go on the floor next year, and I’m creatively involved in that process because I consider myself a creative producer,” she says, adding, “When it comes to my career, I’ve always gone by my instinct and gut.”
‘Doing action in Alpha after having a baby was interesting’
Her next release, Alpha, marks a shift into the action genre. “I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – I don’t consider Heart Of Stone an action film for me. It was an action world, but my character wasn’t action-oriented in that sense. With Alpha, the opportunity to actually do action is something I’m supremely excited about,” she clarifies.
Doing the film post motherhood added a new dimension to the experience. “Doing action after having a baby was very interesting because it allowed me to see what my body is capable of. It was such a learning experience, and it gave me a lot of respect for my body,” she adds.
‘Success and failure are not in your hands’
Unfazed by the unpredictability of outcomes, Alia says she doesn’t dwell on success or failure. “Success and failure are not in your hands. What is in your hands is learning, growing and finding a process that nurtures you as an artiste and as a person. Filmmaking is never about one individual. It’s an entire crew coming together to work towards one shared vision,” she concludes.
‘Love & War is a special film’
Alia’s next two films are among the most anticipated. First up is Love & War, which sees her reunite with Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. “It’s a very special film. We’ve been shooting it through the year, and it never feels like enough. You always want one more day, one more moment, one more scene where you’re just jamming the energy,” she says.
Working with Bhansali continues to be one of her most cherished creative collaborations. She adds, “Working with Sanjay sir is one of my most treasured experiences because of the way he brings his magic to every single moment. But it’s also deeply collaborative. The energy on set is very quiet and focused. We come in, we work hard and everyone brings something different to the table. Of course, the final magic wand is always in Sanjay sir’s hands. It is one of the most fulfilling creative experiences I’ve had on a film set.”
Reflecting on Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi, Alia says the film reshaped how she approaches performance. “What I learned on the Gangubai set was to walk in every day with a blank slate and a blank mind. That element of surprise is something Sanjay sir thrives on, and it teaches you to surrender completely to the process.”
The whole evening, my thumb was in an ice bucket. I never played with phooljhadi again-Alia Bhatt
3:05 PM
Vinay MR Mishra (BOMBAY TIMES; October 20, 2025)
An eight-year-old Alia Bhatt was at her mum Soni Razdan’s house when she ran outside, excited to burst crackers. “We were definitely not climate conscious then,” she quips. Like every other child, she picked up a phooljhadi — only to burn her thumb after touching the wrong end of the burnt stick. “The whole evening, my thumb was in an ice bucket. I never played with phooljhadi again,” she laughs.
That is Alia's most memorable Diwali memory. Today though, her celebrations look very different — softer, warmer, and centered around her two-year-old daughter, Raha. As Alia sits down for an exclusive chat with Bombay Times , she opens up about her last Diwali at Vaastu — her Bandra home — and the light she’s carrying into her next chapter. Excerpts as followed...
Talking about Diwali, the Jigra actress says, "Diwali is a beautiful time, when the city lights up, and everybody just dressing up in their finest Indian attire. There is a literal reason for people to celebrate for days and days together. One of my top three cuisine is Indian. So I specifically love Diwali because wherever you go, you get the best Indian food to eat and you are allowed." So is she on a diet? She brushes it off, "No, not at all. I, actually, leading up to Diwali, go on a strict diet and workout regime, so that I can enjoy myself for the five days."
'Raha and I are going to make Rangoli today'
There’s a new lens through which Alia sees Diwali now — the wonder of a two-year-old discovering light. "Not just Diwali, every experience I have now is through my little child’s eyes,” she says with a tender smile, adding, "Like, how do we make this a memorable evening for her? Whether it’s our little puja or decking up the house. Yesterday we did DIY diya painting because she loves to paint. This morning, we’re making rangoli together. Last year, it was a phoolon ki rangoli because she was small, and I was concerned she might put the colours in her eye. So, I am going to attempt a full on rangoli which we'll do outside our home."
'This is our last Diwali in Vaastu'
The festival this year also coincides with a personal milestone — moving into a new house with husband Ranbir Kapoor and daughter Raha. "This is our last Diwali in the home that she was born in. So, it's actually really emotional time. But it is also very exciting because I know she might not remember this specific Diwali but the years of memories will build up and it'll leave a feeling in her. And Diwali is all about feelings. It should feel warm and full of light," she says.
Ask her how she feels about this new chapter in her life and she replies, "It’s been many years in the making, and honestly, the feeling is just very overwhelming. I feel truly blessed to have this chapter in life. We’re in the middle of the moving-in chaos, but my heart is full. It’s a big dream coming together. The feeling is so large that I think it’ll only really hit us months or maybe a year after we move in."
'Through our Lakshmi Puja, Raha will be eating ladoos and running around'
Alia’s Diwali plans tonight are rooted in simplicity and wholesome. “Today, we’ll do our Lakshmi Puja followed by a sweet moment with our staff — we give them presents and thank them for being with us. Through the puja, Raha will be eating ladoos and running around! The rest I keep simple... I keep talking about this balcony a lot - where we've had so many evenings where we've gotten married, we've spent so many Diwalis with just a really close group of friends. So (this time) we're going to be doing exactly that this year. I'm cranking it up a notch. This year I'm going all out, because it's our last Diwali at home. So, the food menu also is all our favorites and all our Diwali specials. We have certain items on the menu that is very Vaastu specific - what we've eaten over the years. I'm really pushing it even though I'm kind of stretched thin between the house move. All our friends are coming. When I sent them the invite it read – Last Diwali in Vaastu. Please come and join. Bring a great attitude. The dress code is always festive but chill," she tells us.
'Diwali is a great way for us to remember the goodness and to celebrate the light within people'
For most, Diwali is about the shimmer — the gifts, the gatherings, the glow of new clothes. For Alia Bhatt, it’s about what lies beneath that sparkle. "When you talk about Diwali being the festival of light it talks about the triumph of goodness. That personally holds a very strong meaning in my heart because I believe in the power of goodness and kindness. No matter what, however rough or tough your day is, or your month has been or year has been, the ability to just look within and shine bright no matter what. Also have the ability to look at the light in the people around you. Diwali is a great way for us to remember the goodness and to celebrate the light within people. You can either go the non-lit part or you can go the lit part. And I choose light and goodness. Diwali is actually our way of showing gratitude and love to people that matter to us. It’s a great moment for you to pause and be thankful for where you are in life, to the people in your life, and to remember that it's always light over dark. Celebrate that light," she elaborates.
'I get more excited to match Raha and my looks'
Of course, "also embrace the fashion" Alia admits. "That's also fun to get into your finest festive wear," she says, her festive fashion has evolved over with time. "I've gotten more excited about it and now I just love doing combo colors with me and Raha - Matching our looks. That's my drive. Now I'm more excited about how do we combine the looks? And she really likes it. She really enjoys dressing up. Now she's understanding Diwali. Even in her preschool, they've been playing this Happy Diwali song. And today she was doing the Happy Diwali dance. She really is into this. She loves dancing. It's really just about embracing all those little moments," Alia signs off.
When I took up Jigra, Ranbir Kapoor cleared his schedule for the next few months so I can work with ease-Alia Bhatt
7:51 AM
Donning a pristine ivory suit and her dimpled smile, actor Alia Bhatt charmed all gathered at the HT Leadership Summit on Saturday
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 6, 2023)
From growing up in the public eye to becoming one of the most sought-after actors in Bollywood, Alia Bhatt’s life has been nothing short of a filmi story. In conversation with Sonal Kalra, Chief Managing Editor, Entertainment & Lifestyle, Hindustan Times at the 21st HT Leadership Summit held on Saturday, the National Award-winning actor floored everyone with her unabashed honesty about her personal and professional life choices, raising daughter Raha, and donning multiple hats as an actor, producer and entrepreneur.
“I’m always taking India with me,” stated the Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022) actor at the beginning of the session, while talking about representing the country internationally, be it for a movie, a luxury brand, or the Met Gala.
‘DIDN’T DO ANYTHING SPECIAL BY REPEATING MY WEDDING SAREE’
Bhatt, who looked resplendent in an ivory suit, opened up about the much-hyped discourse of her wearing her wedding saree to receive the National Film Awards. “[Almost] instinctively, I felt that I was going to wear my wedding saree (when her name was announced for the National Award). It was a garment I felt myself the most in. My wedding was a special moment [for me], and this was also a moment that felt special for different reasons. An outfit can be worn for a special occasion more than once. I don’t think I was doing something special!”
‘NEVER SAY NEVER TO DIRECTION’
Bhatt’s career seems to be going from strength to strength — from starting off as a young actor in Student Of The Year (2012) to turning co-producer for projects like Darlings (2022) and Jigra. Calling it a “creative ride” the actor shared, “Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said [in one of his speeches], ‘There are no losers in life, only winners and learners’. This stayed with me, and I believe I’m a learner.”
Considering her hands-on experience backing a project, can we see her in the director’s chair soon? Bhatt laughed and answered, “I would be a very impatient director. But never say never! I don’t have that kind of command over a story. I can aid other filmmakers get them together as a producer. Although Sanjay sir (Leela Bhansali, filmmaker) once told me, ‘I think you should direct a movie one day’, and I was like, ‘Sir?’ and he just said, ‘You will see’.”
As the conversation with Alia Bhatt proceeded with candid and witty answers from the actor, she revealed more about her daughter — a point of curiosity for most of her fans.
NOT HIDING MY DAUGHTER’
The 30-year-old has received a lot of praise for not revealing her daughter Raha’s face to the world, who happens to turn a year older today. “It’s not like I’m hiding my daughter; I am proud of our baby. But we (she and husband, actor Ranbir Kapoor) are new parents. We don’t know how we feel about her face splashed all over the internet,” she shared, with a promise that they will introduce the world to Raha once they are comfortable.
When asked about juggling multiple roles as a mum, actor, producer and an entrepreneur, Bhatt said she tries to compartmentalize everything according to priority. And Raha is the first priority for her and Ranbir.
“Although we have help at home, we work our schedules around Raha in a way that one of us is always with her all the time. When I took up Jigra, Ranbir cleared his schedule for the next few months so I can work with ease,” she shared, adding, “Celebs are often asked, ‘How is it being a working mother?’ But women work! The nanny who comes to my house has three kids of her own. Even stay-at-home mums work a lot. I think we give celebs too much importance.”
ON GETTING TROLLED
As is with most public figures, Bhatt has also received equal parts praise and trolling. When asked how she navigates her way through all this, she said, “As long as my movies are doing well… I’m fine.” But, she does draws the line between constructive criticism and “endless hate”. “A person can look at me and not like my face, I can’t do anything about that,” she said. “I’ve never experienced trolling upfront. But, if there’s any chatter, I [can] hope it dies down and move forward,” she ends.
Women should take a moment to appreciate their bodies-Alia Bhatt
8:56 AM
The actress opens up about body positivity and lessons learnt about fitness as a new mother
Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; January 18, 2023)
After giving birth to a baby girl last November, Alia Bhatt is back to yoga and her fitness regime, but is in no rush to look a certain way. “Listen to your body” is her mantra, something that she has learnt over the years as an actress and now as a mother. In a chat with Bombay Times, she particularly stressed on this aspect of body positivity. She told us, “I really want to talk about this. A lot of women struggle with their new appearance post pregnancy. They tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves to get back to looking a certain way. Everyone wants to lose weight and I can relate to that.”
She added, “I love food, I love to eat and I had to lose weight because films are a visual medium and you need to look healthy.”
Alia said, “You have to look appealing. In today’s age, with every picture appearing on social media, girls even before pregnancy are constantly worried about how they look. Women should take a moment to appreciate their bodies.”
The actress had a special message for new mothers like herself. She said, “So many pieces have to come together and things need to go right for you to bring a baby into the world. I want you to appreciate your body for keeping you safe during that time. It’s not just about getting back in shape, but building your immunity, and then, everything will follow.”
She continued, “Now when I work out, I don’t do it to become thin or make my waist look smaller. I do it to be healthy. The idea is to be fit and not starve yourself by following some unhealthy diet. I made a decision to never be hard on myself even if there’s extra bloating or chubbiness here and there. I am going to celebrate it. I won’t torture myself. Just take effort to remain healthy, like eat your veggies, include protein in your diet, do yoga and go for a walk. Do basic things to be healthy. Take a moment to appreciate yourself.”
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CHILDBIRTH IS A MIRACLE IN EVERY WAY, SAYS ALIA
In a post she shared on Instagram last December, Alia wrote, “One and a half months post-partum, after gradually re-building my connection with my core, and with full guidance from my teacher, I was able to attempt this inversion. To my fellow mamas, listening to your body post delivery is key. Do not do anything your gut tells you not to. For the first week or two during my workouts, all I did was breathe, walk, find my stability and balance again (& I still have a long way to go). Take your time, appreciate what your body has done. After what my body did, I have taken a vow to never be hard on myself again. Childbirth is a miracle in every way & giving your body that love and support that it gave you is the least we can do (sic).”
The way 2022 unfolded for me, it felt like a movie-Alia Bhatt
8:44 AM
Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; January 1, 2023)
After a year of some surprising highs and lows, the film industry is stepping into the New Year with hope and promise. However, the year gone by gave a few Bollywood actors a reason to rejoice and celebrate. Alia Bhatt is one actor who owned and conquered 2022. Having proved her mettle as an artiste many times over, 2022 was an extremely special year for Alia for more reasons than one. In a year that saw the mighty fail, Alia set the screen on fire with her feisty portrayal of Gangubai Kathiawadi. And she was only getting started. Next, she was seen in S S Rajamouli’s RRR, which went on to become a mega box-office suceess, and followed it up with Ayan Mukerji’s ambitious Brahmastra and her first production, the highly acclaimed OTT movie, Darlings.
The year also saw her marrying her boyfriend and Hindi cinema’s acting powerhouse Ranbir Kapoor. The two were blessed with a baby girl (Raha). In her first exclusive interview after becoming a mother, Alia opens up on the best year of her life, what lies ahead, marriage, motherhood and more. Read on...
You delivered four successful films in 2022, made your debut as a producer and entrepreneur, forayed into Hollywood, got married to beau Ranbir Kapoor and became a mother. It seems like it was nothing short of a dream year for you.
Professionally and personally, the year began on a high note for me. Nothing was a lot to handle, although every stage was surreal. The way 2022 unfolded for me, it felt like a movie. Be it Gangubai Kathiawadi, RRR or Brahmastra, there was a kind of build-up of many years and anticipation coming together, given my association with Sanjay Leela Bhansali sir, Rajamouli sir, my first film production Darlings and of course, Brahmastra, which was in the making for many years. Lots of hopes were attached to the year and whenever there’s hope, there’s room for heartbreak. If things don’t go right, your heart can crumble into pieces and you can’t prepare yourself for it. You can do everything as an actor, but eventually, it’s in the hands of the audience. For each film of mine to not only be appreciated but also generate a conversation, it’s a big moment of gratitude for me. At every point last year, I couldn’t believe that things were going so well! How nicely the tick marks were coming on my report card. At the end of the day, an actor’s career is a report card. You have to score good marks, and if you don’t, you feel bad, and you have to work harder.
You have always had a mind of your own. It reflects in your professional and personal choices — like not following the herd as an actor or your decision to get married and have a child at the peak of your career. What drives you to live life on your terms?
There is no right or wrong in life. What works for me might not work for someone else. I have always listened to my heart. You can’t plan life. Life plans itself and you just have to follow that path. Whether it’s films or anything else, I always let my heart decide. Yes, at the peak of my career, I decided to get married and have a baby. But who says that marriage or motherhood will change anything to do with my work? Even if it does, so be it. I don’t care. I knew that in life, I would never regret the decision to have a baby. It’s a natural instinct. It’s the best decision that I have ever made. I have never been happier or more fulfilled. Every moment is more meaningful as a mother. Also, I believe in myself as an actor. If you work hard, are a good actor and if people want to work with you, aapke paas kaam aayega. And if work doesn’t come to you, then so be it. Maybe it’s not your time. I value my work a lot, but I also value my life beyond it, and I want to strike a balance between the two. Dil mein jo aata hai woh karo.
Has motherhood changed your outlook towards life?
Totally. I am still the same person, but everything is different. Motherhood brings a completely new dimension to your life. Your priorities change. The word ‘responsibility’ holds a new meaning altogether. It’s the most vulnerable you can ever feel in life. Your heart opens fully.
Now with probably one of the best years in your life behind you, what are your thoughts as we step into the New Year?
When I was younger, I used to make resolutions, now I take each day as it comes. New Year always brings new energy. Kuch naya karna ho, accha karna ho, hum naye saal mein karte hai. Newness is always nice. For me, every day is a new day and a fresh beginning. I wonder how 2023 is going to live up to 2022! 2022 has been the best year of my life. I have two releases this coming year, so I am excited about them. I am excited to see my daughter grow up, see her facial expressions evolve and celebrate her first birthday in 2023.
Is 2023 going to be a relatively relaxed year for you professionally after a power-packed 2022?
Aisa kuch nahi hai. I will get back to work and brand commitments by the end of this month. Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani is slated to release in April 2023 and Farhan Akhtar’s Jee Le Zaraa will go on the floors. I am absolutely thrilled about these films.
You promoted Brahmastra while you were pregnant and even shot your first Hollywood film with Gal Gadot when you were expecting. There was no stepping on the brakes at any point. Could you take us through that period?
I don’t believe in limiting myself unless there’s some physical limitation. I was pregnant, so yes, there was scope for many limitations, as pregnancy is unpredictable. I decided to take each day as it comes and listen to my body. Of course, work is very important, but at that point, my baby and my health were my priority. From the very beginning, I told myself that only if I was comfortable, will I push myself. Touchwood, my pregnancy didn’t hold me back physically. Yes, the first few weeks were slightly difficult, but at that time, I didn’t talk about it because you are not supposed to say anything for the first 12 weeks, right? That’s what everybody says, so I had to keep that information to myself, but I was listening to my body. I would try to get as much rest as possible, but you also have to meet your work commitments. Heart Of Stone is my first Hollywood movie, which I signed in January 2022. I tried hard to work out that schedule, so I didn’t want to back off. The team assured me that they will take good care of me. I managed to shoot my first action film while I was pregnant! That is a story I will tell for years because it also makes you realize how much your body is capable of if you just put your mind to it. I have immense respect and admiration for my body.
I have never had a plan. In fact, I used to think I will get married very late-Alia Bhatt
8:47 AM
Alia Bhatt with mid-day’s entertainment editor Mayank Shekhar at the latest edition of Sit with Hitlist. Pics/Ashish Rane, Satej Shinde
Bollywood’s youngest superstar on checking every life box before she turns 30, including the box office, of course
Mayank Shekhar (MID-DAY; August 20, 2022)
Shortly before he became the OTT sensation/star of sorts, actor Pankaj Tripathi used to be Alia Bhatt’s tutor — for a month. This is when Bhatt was preparing to play Kumari Pinky, a brutally abused, drugged-out migrant girl from the under-classes in Udta Punjab (2016).
“There is a ‘Pankaj Tripathi wave’ that came, na, but it came after that,” Bhatt recalls her trainer, whom she’d meet every day, mastering body language, Jharkhandi dialect, down to how her character sits on haunches for hours.
It’s the only time in her career that Bhatt confesses she went “method” on herself. Meaning, abandoned cell-phone, never stepped out of hotel room, consumed no entertainment, spent time interacting/empathising with local youth, never switched on the TV, and simply marinated in the character, until the shoot ended. Why? Because she wanted to prove she was “a chameleon as an actor.” To whom? To herself, she says.
But looks like even before the audience, first to her director, Abhishek Chaubey — who hadn’t imagined Bhatt at all in the role while scripting it. She had in fact read the said script, through Shahid Kapoor, her co-actor in the romantic fantasy, 'Shaandaar' (2015), that they were shooting at the time. She actively went up to Chaubey, asking him to consider her for the battered female lead. The initial look-test didn’t wholly convince him either.
She even learnt to play hockey for a month, which is only part of the character’s back-story, not even in the film. The effort totally matches the outcome. Although she says, “There is a part [of me] that says I won’t do it again; of course, never say never. I only played that part for 20 days, which was great. I don’t know how I would have survived it for, say, 60 days.”
And it’s not that she hasn’t attempted sufficient variety since her debut in Karan Johar’s 'Student Of The Year' (SOTY, 2012), a high-school musical, playing the high-heeled, dolled-up Shanaya Singhania, who’s also admittedly nothing like Bhatt, contrary to popular belief: “If you saw me in the clothes that I wore for my first audition, you would know how I was really not that character.”
Apparently around 400 young girls tested for that debuting role. Bhatt was in 11th standard then.
Set for a starry career, she followed up SOTY with occupying a polar-opposite space as Veera Tripathi, with a traumatic past, in 'Highway' (2014). How did she land up there? In the same way that she grabbed 'Udta Punjab' for herself — through persuasive skills.
She recalls, “Imtiaz was thinking of going with an older woman. He bumped into me at a screening, and I was very actively pursuing him. I gave him a vibe that was genuine and heartfelt. And Imtiaz Ali offering me a film, after 'Rockstar' and 'Jab We Met', of course, was a big moment for me. I read the script, and was like, okay, tough, tough, tough… I don’t pay anyone to take me in their movies, in case anybody was trying to sell that narrative. I think dedication sells on the top of the pyramid, and then come the rest. Talent is secondary, hard work is number one.”
More importantly, in showbiz, nothing sells like commercial success. And Bhatt has to her credit quite possibly the best box-office report card in Bombay. Over the past decade, all films starring her, have performed at the cinemas, barring merely two. She’s quick to point them out — Shaandaar (2015) and Kalank (2019).
As I write this, 'Darlings' (2022), Bhatt’s latest release, is trending at number two, across the world, on Netflix. She made a longish appearance in one of India’s greatest hits ever, S S Rajamouli’s 'RRR' (2022). Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' (2022), with Bhatt in the title role, in fact, turned out to be a face-saviour of sorts for Bollywood in the theatres, post the pandemic, while pretty much all the top-starrers have bombed since.
Ever since she can remember, Bhatt had always wanted to be an actor. As an audience, as she described it, she was a “runty thing”, watching all of Govinda’s No 1 films in the front row of Juhu’s Chandan cinema: “I was like, mujhe Govinda banna hai!”
She entered the big screen as Preity Zinta’s child version in her father Mahesh Bhatt’s production, 'Sangharsh' (1999), when she was six. Enough offers came her way thereafter for similar parts, but her mother Soni Razdan (also an actor) was clear she didn’t want Bhatt to become a “child actor”; instead she should “study, lead a normal life; acting can happen later.”
The mother made an exception once, though. This is when she took little Bhatt out for an audition, suggesting it’d be a good experience. It’s only when she reached the building, and her mom asked the watchman about Bhansali’s floor, that she figured she was going to audition before a director she had been fan-girling over, forever: “How ironic, na, that even the building he stays in is called Magnum Opus!”
The role was for Bhansali’s 'Black'. Taking an instant shine to the kid, Bhansali told the mother right then that while he wasn’t considering her for Black, he did have a film in mind, wholly centred on her. This was going to be Balika Vadhu, that Bhatt would’ve debuted as a heroine with, when she was nine!
“We did costume rehearsals, look-tests. I went ahead and danced on Dola re dola and all of that. Ghoom phirke, I don’t know what happened. I went back to school. Sir decided not to make the film. But the keeda of working with him remained stuck in my head. When I joined the movies, I was told Sir only works with actors at their prime. I knew once that happens, I’ll get the chance.”
She still feels he should’ve gone ahead with Balika Vadhu, which became a hugely popular network TV show few years later. At the press conference before Gangubai’s premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, Bhansali described how Bhatt had stormed out of the director’s office, having first heard the film’s concept/script. She laughs, “Sir exaggerates a little bit. He said she ran out of the office. He was not wrong. I did get a little thrown off with the subject, because we were supposed to do another film [Inshallah, a romance, with Salman Khan, that got shelved]. So I was like, you know Sir, it is a very different subject. Totally different from what I had imagined. I need to digest it for a second, but it was a no-brainer [to accept the offer].”
Box-office successes apart, what has struck audiences is Bhatt’s capacity to convincingly inhabit worlds so separate from hers — whether as a mature, Kashmiri spy, undercover in Pakistan in 'Raazi' (2018), or for that matter, the cutesy girl from Ambala in 'Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania' (2014) — given a protected upbringing, with life experiences that barely stretch beyond Juhu, the tony, filmy neighbourhood where she’s lived all through. In terms of the world/setting, the only film, she says, that comes close to her own, is 'Dear Zindagi' (2016).
The 'Udta Punjab' acting process was of course an anomaly. Otherwise, she says, besides unconditionally submitting to her directors, and approaching the part/script “from an academic sense” beforehand — on the set, she likes to be in the moment, trusting her instinct and spontaneity.
“For instance, in Darlings, I depended a lot [on the debutant director] Jasmeet [K Reen]. It helps to work with a writer-director. You know that they’ve lived with the script for that long. Jasmeet spent three months in Byculla [where Darlings is set]. She would come and tell me things. You are then really responding, living, breathing that moment [on set]. That is why I had so much fun working with Shefali [Shah], because she is exactly like that. You don’t know what she is going to do. Also, I am a bit of a sponge. You can tell who I’ve hung out with on a given day — because I start speaking like that person!”
Which was the case with Gangubai, Bhatt reveals about Bhansali being the performative inspiration: “I took so much of Sir’s personality and put that into Gangubai’s character — the way he speaks, thinks, has a certain attitude, tashan… Because it is in his head. Film is the director’s medium. And then it’s the written word. The actor has to collect all those things and place it in front of the camera.”
Which kind of explains the unique range Bhatt manages, with three disparate directors — channelling lower-deck Bombay, in what can be seen as a trilogy in her career — playing Safeena from Kurla in Zoya Akhtar’s 'Gully Boy' (2019), down to 'Gangubai' (from Kamathipura), 'Darlings' (in Byculla).
Within Mumbai itself, it’s not that there’s been anything regular about Bhatt’s own life, or so one guesses. The first time I saw her, from a distance, was at the premiere of SOTY — she would’ve been 19, decidedly seeming a brat. Everyone is allowed their 20s, and all the senseless swag that comes with it. Only that a life entirely spent under a spotlight doesn’t allow for such leeway. That’s been the 20s for her. She’s 29. Did it require a certain mental adjustment?
She admits, “Well, you got to keep it together at most times, yes. I am very open to people’s opinions. That is the only way a person learns. But there is [this] humbling part [in my personality] that also comes with my upbringing, and the people around me. I am not the first member of my own fan club. I do not believe the sun shines out of my backside. I genuinely believe I am here to do a job, and must continue to do it well, which is a by-product of a lot of people doing their job well. It is not just me. I value that.”
The question was actually meant more in terms of whether she has led the normal 20s, pulling all-nighters at nightclubs, playing the fool, with friends, etc? “Actually, I recently realised that I have literally not been a ‘present’ friend for 10 years. And they let me be ‘unpresent’, because they knew I was chasing something. And you have to make sacrifices to try and get what you want. I have the same [set of] nine friends I went to [Jamnabai] school with. At the end of the day, I feel most comfortable with them. There is a certain version of myself that I have to be in a public space, which I don’t, in their company. What matters to them is me, being me. That’s very grounding. The reason I have not lost them, is because of them. Because they have been so understanding, supportive.”
The other aspect that separates a regular person in their 20s from those killing it in showbiz, or sports as well, is your income levels — which go in the opposite direction of almost all other jobs, where you make so much less at an early age, and financially peak only nearing retirement, when there is hardly the same energy/inclination left to splurge!
At what age did Bhatt buy her first car? “At 19-20; Audi Q5.” First home? “At 21. But listen, I feel very touched and grateful for the privileges. That’s why I believe in giving back, I have set aside a certain amount of money that goes into CSR on a yearly basis, for animals [rights, protection], that I feel very passionately about.”
What did she get paid for her big Bollywood debut, SOTY? “Rs. 15 lakh. I deposited the cheque straight to my mother and very nicely said, ‘Mamma, you handle the money. Till date, my mother handles my money.”
Where does she invest her money — I’m just curious, having never met someone as rich through their 20s, with an income/earning that is totally theirs? “In fact my CA, who’s also a family friend gets stressed out — that I don’t spend any money, don’t invest, that I need to enjoy a little bit. But I am not much of a spender.”
That said, Bhatt concedes she does have some sort of “business brain”: “Itna toh mujhe pata hai. I created my own children’s [clothing] brand, and I put my own money into it. I didn’t go to an investor. And the brand has grown a lot.” It’s called Edamamma; meaning?
“My [five-year-old] cat’s name is Edward, who is my inspiration for everything. So Ed-A-Mamma, like Ed’s mama. He is there in my production house logo as well [there is a cat’s whiskers], and in the beginning of my film.”
Bhatt launched her movie company with Darlings, and named it Eternal Sunshine, which is an obvious reference to Michael Gondry’s 2004 romantic sci-fi, surely? “It is one of my favourite films. But it’s also the feeling [that] movies [evoke]. I believe movies are [an] eternal [sunshine].”
Her character Badru in 'Darlings', presumably the same age as her, actually has a checklist hanging in her wall at home, with life-goals for boxes that she must tick, before she attains a certain age. Why does that sound familiar?
Here’s Bhatt, the actor, with a house, car, checked, before 21; Bollywood debut before 20; started a film company, and then married, and is even expecting a child, before she turns 30! Is she following some timeline — yes/no/maybe?
Bhatt says, “Contrary to the character in Darlings, I don’t have a list. I have never had a plan. In fact, I used to think I will get married very late. I was one of those girls, who didn’t really talk about marriage much. But it is totally different, when you fall deeply in love, and you also feel like, okay, no, you want to get into that next point of your life.”
“That happened very naturally with Ranbir [Kapoor]. I don’t know why. It just happened. And I am not feeling like my work will stop, pause, or change. I will continue to work till the very end. But that [raising a family] section of your life is something that you have to give your time and energy to. It is not going to happen by itself.”
As for manifesting life events, here’s something that can’t be denied about her relationship with her now-husband, Ranbir Kapoor. Over the past decade, pick up any interview, especially the rapid-fire round type stuff that’s common on YouTube chats.
Every time she’s been asked about a crush, someone she’d like to date on-screen, etc — inevitably, her answer has been Ranbir Kapoor. Which is mildly strange, since both of them had been dating other people, all through. It’s almost like she set her eyes on this guy, and simply announced to the world that that’s the one she’s gonna end up with.
Bhatt laughs, “You know, it is really weird. I was saying it as a regular ‘cute girl’. I was not actually chasing Ranbir on the side, or plotting to get Ranbir; none of that was happening. The fact that I was saying it obviously means I was not thinking about it. Sometimes when you think about it, you never say it.”
“It is beautiful how it naturally worked out, when we started working together on Brahmastra. For the longest time, we were socially meeting each other. But we had our own lives. There was no interaction, nothing. There was not even a friendship. I could not even call Ranbir a friend. But it naturally happened on that one flight to Tel Aviv, when we both were not seeing anybody. Both of us were single. Both of us were like, ‘Oh my God, what were we doing all these years?’ ‘Why aren’t we together?’ It was a question he kinda asked me. I was like, ‘I don’t know!’ So that’s what I was talking about. You cannot plan something like this.”
By the way, Bhatt will soon get christened Bhatt-Kapoor, or Kapoor-Bhatt, however she plans to put it, for her last name. While Ranbir has “fondly” changed the marital status on his passport, she hasn’t had the time to make the submissions since her wedding.
But she intends to go in for an official name-change in her travel documents: “We are going to have a child now. I don’t want to be the Bhatt, whilst the Kapoors are traveling together; you know what I mean? I don’t want to feel left out.” Her screen name, she says, will remain the same.
That’s a lotta information to share, given her marriage ceremony itself in Mumbai on April 14, 2022, seemed no less than a state secret, with her fans, and therefore the national press, going on all fours to scoop out any details they could, while none were forthcoming.
Even the wedding date was open to speculation — what with one uncle in the family declaring a date, and another cousin contradicting it. It’s unclear if either was invited! Why not just reveal the date, and end the unnecessary attention.
Bhatt says, “Par mere ko announce nahin karna hai. Kyunki yeh public event nahin hai [Why? It’s not a public event!]. Speculation was also that there are 25 vegan counters [at the wedding]. I said I didn’t even have 25 guests. What am I going to get 25 vegan counters for? And I have got a lovely but a basic house. You speculate what the hell you want, it is fine, entertaining. I don’t care. I didn’t want to confirm it. Because you have to understand, I live in a residential building. It was anyway a nightmare [for the neighbours] — poor things, we sent them all hampers…”
A celebrity destination-wedding, away from prying paps, could have also saved everyone from the traffic snarl on Pali Hill, with TV crews clogging the two-lane road for days, assuming she could tie the proverbial knot, any afternoon/evening/night!
“Yes, haath jodke unse maafi maangti hoon [I apologize with folded hands], but we made enough preparation. I wanted to get married at my house, where Ranbir and I have lived together for the past many years since our relationship began. It was perfect, comfortable — I got to interact with everybody, because there were only 40 people. We aren’t the big, celebratory kinda people.”
Speaking of unnecessary media attention, while India, like the world, was reeling under COVID-19 in 2020, the national TV news media, particularly certain aggro anchors, known for manufacturing enemies within, chose Bollywood as a fresh egg in their basket. Accusing it of being the hotbed of a nepotistic culture — the insider-outsider, elite-subaltern as binaries, being part of a wider politics.
The city’s film industry was under siege in nightly debates, that instantly expand to trolling online; both feeding off each other. Bhatt belongs to the third generation in the film industry. Her grandfather Nanabhai Bhatt used to make swashbuckling stunt flicks in the black-&-white era. And she was introduced to Bollywood (along with Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan) by Karan Johar, who was himself under attack for heading a “gang”/”mafia” of sorts. She, in turn, uniquely became the face of Bollywood’s nepotism. Surely the insane vitriol can take a toll — what did she make of it?
“I believed the only way I could shut the conversation down is through my movies. So, don’t respond, don’t feel bad. Of course, I felt bad. But feeling bad is a small price to pay for the work that you are respected and loved for. I delivered a film like Gangubai. So, who’s having the last laugh? At least until I deliver my next flop? For now, I am laughing!”
Bhatt is combative enough as she makes her case further: “I can’t keep defending myself verbally. And if you don’t like me, don’t watch me. I can’t help it. That’s something I can’t do [anything about]. People have something to say. Hopefully, I will prove to them with my movies that I am actually worth the space I occupy. That’s the controlled person in me. The other person in me is like, ‘What the hell is this nonsense? Why is this happening for no reason?’”
“Nepotism, in my opinion, exists in every industry. It’s leveraging your connections to help somebody get a position. You can similarly put somebody forward for a job in tech, marketing, or finance. But if he messes up that job, the company goes into a loss. [Likewise in films] the audience is the biggest barometer for success. If they believe you’re worth that success, they will give it to you. Another thing — how can I control where I am born, bhai? Tomorrow, if my child wants to get into acting or movies, they will have to work hard to prove. So you have to have a super thick skin [about it].”
Which she does, evidently, over a deceptively petite frame — even a sense of humour, actually. Recall the video she once made with AIB, lampooning herself, responding to memes in 2014, because she couldn’t answer who the President of India was, on the chat show Koffee With Karan.
Oh wait, that reminds me, does she know who the President is now? To be fair, it’s a trick question. At the point we were recording this episode of Sit with Hitlist, Droupadi Murmu was the President-elect. She remembers [Ram Nath] Kovind. “Madam President,” she says. Asking me in return if I know who the production designer of Darlings is. Fair point, I should know, but I don’t [it’s Garima Mathur]. My bad. But it’s not the same thing!
While Bhatt sweetly retaliates, “I don’t want to give the wrong answer. And tum mujhe dumb samjho, mujhe koi interest nahin hai, jaake meri film dekho, bas [Think of me as dumb if you like, never mind, just go watch my movies].” Oh not dumb at all — someone with an uncannily high emotional intelligence, for sure.
When it comes to being a producer, I will always be a creative producer-Alia Bhatt
8:24 AM
Alia says she doesn’t understand number-crunching and goes by her creative instinct as she turns producer with Darlings
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; July 27, 2022)
I don’t understand numbers,” she says. Not the words you would expect from a producer. But then, Alia Bhatt has always marched to her own beat. So, as she turns producer with Darlings, the actor is relying on what has guided her so far — her creative instinct. “Numbers don’t make any sense to me. I have a business [bent of] mind, but if you talk numbers, I [drift] out of the conversation. When it comes to being a producer, I will always be a creative producer. I respond instinctively.”
For her maiden production, Bhatt has chosen a dark comedy, a genre that remains largely untapped in Hindi cinema. The Netflix film sees her character Badrunissa abduct her husband Hamza, essayed by Vijay Varma, to avenge the years of mistreatment she suffered at his hands. Joining her in the audacious plan is her mother, played by Shefali Shah. It was the quirky mother-daughter equation that piqued Bhatt’s interest.
“To me, Darlings is a mother-daughter film. Their odd dynamic was an interesting aspect. Throughout the film, whenever my character says something, you expect the mother to respond in a certain way, but she reacts in a completely [different] manner. I have always been spontaneous [as an actor], and it was a delight to know that Shefali is the same. There was unpredictable energy flowing between us, which was great because comedy is all about timing and feeding off each other’s energy.”
With her light-handed treatment of the subject, director Jasmeet K Reen makes a strong statement about domestic violence and how women stand up against patriarchy. “We are constantly fighting patriarchy, in movies and in life. I think the more aware we become of it, the more obvious it becomes [that it’s all-pervading]. After you understand what patriarchy or sexism is, you see it everywhere; you can’t un-see it. As a public figure, I need to put out a certain social messaging [through my films].”
This year has also brought a few personal milestones for Bhatt — she tied the knot with Ranbir Kapoor in April, and the two are expecting their first child together. The mommy-to-be beams, “It has been great. I have no complaints. Touch wood.”
I am not at that stage where BO numbers don't matter to me, and anybody who is saying that, is not being honest-Alia Bhatt
8:53 AM
Madhureeta Mukherjee (BOMBAY TIMES; May 15, 2022)
This has been a year of several milestones for Alia Bhatt. A wish that she harboured since the age of nine, came to fruition with Gangubai Kathiawadi. She finally stepped into her dream director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s cinematic landscape. Her stellar performance wowed the audience and it validated her creative choices, once again. The film went on to become a commercial success, and yet another gem in her crown. In a conversation with us, the newly-married actress talks about the Bhansali-effect, Gangubai’s impact on her life and Ranbir’s silent support. Read on...
You have sunk deep into your roles in the past, too, for films like Udta Punjab, Raazi, Gully Boy. But to work on a film with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, apart from the prep on the character and dialogues, was there any mental prep that was involved from the moment you agreed to be a part of his cinematic world?
I don’t think in life one can mentally prep for a role, you may say you are doing it, but what you are really doing is mentally prepping for all the hard work. If I go mentally prepared, I won’t be able to actively feel any of those things on set. So, for me, the mental prep is more like...am I ready to give it my all, not have any complaints, or have any social life beyond the movie at that point? That’s what I prepare for. In fact, at the end of every day I want to be shocked and say...today I felt this, or today I physically pushed myself this far. You discover new beats when you wholly surrender to the process. I think it is more a process of surrendering, than emotionally preparing.
So, you are the kind of actor who believes in totally surrendering to a character?
Yes, that is the only way. Completely giving it your all is the only way. Sometimes, you hold on to who you are as a person, or maybe your mind is occupied with other things... all of which is normal, and there is nothing wrong with it. To a certain extent, very often other things in your life seep in to your performance. For Gangubai, I didn’t let anything else enter my life and also what helped was that we shot this film at night. There was no disturbance and a natural quiet and that helped us go deeper into that world. And at that point, it was the only world we knew.
Ranveer Singh, who has worked with Bhansali several times, says that he broke him as an actor, and he had to rise from there. Did you go through a similar process of reinventing yourself?
Did you have to unlearn a lot of things to begin this journey with him on a fresh slate? As an actor, I don’t have any fixed way of working. It’s not like I had to unlearn anything. What I realized is that there isn’t only one way to do a scene, which is what is on paper. I realized that there are million ways to approach a scene. Other than that, I prefer to choose the director’s process as my process. For some reason, I feel that if I keep changing with the director’s vision, then my process will also evolve with it.
There are a lot of artistes out there, who would give an arm and a leg to feature as Bhansali’s leading lady and be a part of his cinematic vision. Now that you are one, and that too, a part of a film that has gone on to become a success and been talked about for the right reasons, does it feel like you have hit a milestone?
Hundred per cent! Look at the list of illustrious actors that he has worked with and now, I am added to that. It feels like... wow! Also, he’s known for extracting the best performances from his actors and making their look and dialogues so iconic. Thus, it makes it more special. He has that brilliant understanding when it comes to creating moments in his movie that stick. For the first time people have been asking me to repeat dialogues from the film.
Is there any aspect or nuance that you really wanted the character to have or bring out? Or some trait that you specifically focused on?
I think what I wanted to bring to the character was humour and a bit of sarcasm. Even in terms of her body language, in subtle moments, and even some really random moments which the audience could have missed, I wanted to bring in humour. I feel there is a lot of comedy in tragedy. Even though she comes from a tragic setting and world, Gangubai’s soul is light.
Did Gangubai take you to places that you have never been to as an actor?
Absolutely! It took me to places within scenes I’ve never been to before, but I can’t tell you how I went there, and I also can’t tell you where that place is (laughs!). It happened in the moment and you don’t remember what happened after that.
Before Gangubai released, there were people who wondered whether you could pull it off. It’s not that they doubted your acting prowess, but because physically you look dainty. During the two years of working on this film, did you ever have self-doubt? Did you ever feel that this could go terribly wrong?
No! I didn’t think it would go terribly wrong, I thought that either it will be absolutely right, or it would be a comedy. I can’t hold back my decisions thinking something can go wrong. So, for me, even while I was performing the part, I was doing it with 100% conviction. If I start doubting myself, then you will see that in my eyes. Yes, we never know what the audience will think. We went through two years of sitting at home because of the pandemic, and we weren’t sure about the palate of the audience. It was a new film, and even in structure and form, it was episodic. I couldn’t sit back and worry about the outcome, because if I did that, I wouldn’t be able to totally surrender to the moment.
Does an actor of your calibre ever feel self-doubt? Do insecurities crop up?
Of course, I have moments of self-doubt and insecurities, but even if I do, it doesn’t mean that I don’t go ahead and try to pull it off. I think one thing that I have discovered with time is that I don’t fear making a fool of myself. If I do something, and it goes wrong, it’s okay. At least I have tried and given it a shot. If I don’t try, how will I even know if I can. Another thing that I have become very comfortable with is that I don’t need constant gratification and validation. I want to reach heights as an actor and if I get appreciated for having done my part correctly, it’s great. If I don’t, maybe it was not for me. But at least I tried. I give myself a pat on my back for trying and doing something new and different.
A lot of that confidence and courage to make brave choices also stem from the fact that you have enjoyed critical acclaim and commercial success early on.
When I did a film like Raazi, somewhere in my heart I recognized that this film will not only be loved but be commercially successful. And when it worked, somewhere I felt validated in my thinking. I am a creative collaborator and that is also why I decided to become a producer. My choices have been supported by the audience. I feel that if my instinct is saying that this will be something new for me, I should go out there and do it, as I have got that validation in the past.
While we understand that box office success is crucial, actors often reach a stage where they aren’t driven by just numbers. The connect that they form with the audience matters beyond everything else. Would you say that you have reached that point in your career?
If I am making a film for the theatre, I want people to come to the theatre. I am not making the film for myself. I care for box office numbers only in that sense. Now I have become a producer, so I understand how much money I am spending on a film and how much is coming back to the film. The thing is, I don’t believe that OTT has become a dumping yard. I think it has become a place where people can portray certain work which may not be commercially successful. There are certain subjects and films that people don’t want to go to the theatre and watch. They want to watch it on their phone or consume it gradually. Or there is a certain film that you think should cut across the existing diaspora, so then you put that film on OTT. It doesn’t mean it’s not a good film, the subject maybe unique, but it makes for a good watch at home. But if you are coming out of your home and spending money on tickets and snacks, it has to be worth your while. I am not at that stage where BO numbers don't matter to me, and anybody who is saying that, is not being honest. It matters to everyone.
Ranbir Kapoor has not only made his debut with Bhansali, but he has also assisted him prior to that. In moments of uncertainty, doubt, or just otherwise, did his inputs and understanding of working with Bhansali, help you through the two years of shooting?
I don’t think I am someone who looks for advice and tips. I have my own process and like to make my own mistakes. I make my own discoveries and observations, too. I am very observant, and if you give me something beforehand, it gets stuck in my brain and I start expecting that. Hence, I like to stumble upon something new. But definitely, while shooting for Gangubai, the support that Ranbir gave me through his silence — knowing that I am going through this process and I didn’t have much to give at that point other than to the film — was something that I cherish and value. It was a silent understanding, without saying much or doing much.
There is a dialogue in the film, among many powerful ones, “Izzat se jeene ka…kisi ke baap se nahin darne ka.” Do you think the choices you have made in life, personal and professional, have made you a fearless person?
Fearless doesn’t mean that you don’t have any fear. I think I am very comfortable with feeling uncertain, doubtful, insecure and all these things. But that will not hold me back from making strong decisions. Doing the unusual, unheard of and the unexpected, is what satisfies me and that can happen only if you are a bit fearless. So, I will not say I am a fearless actor. Also, it all depends on what you are seeking and what satisfies your soul. I get happy when I do something shocking and different. ‘Whoa!’ is the response I enjoy. Nice, nice... good is not what I like to hear.
Every now and then people say, ‘now she is not talking like Alia, she talks like Gangu’-Alia Bhatt
8:48 AM
Co-writer of the book that inspired Bhansali to envision a film on Kamathipura’s godmother of the ’50s, mid-day’s Jane Borges meets Alia Bhatt for an evening chat on what it took to metamorphose into the sassy fighter
Jane Borges (MID-DAY; February 27, 2022)
Kamathipura is gritty at its worst, but otherwise plain, sombre and dull. There are days when it will surprise you; like the last time this writer visited the area, notoriously remembered as Asia’s largest red-light district. This was in June 2016 for an article I was pursuing for this very newspaper on the gentrification of the neighbourhood of Mumbai with the infamous pincode 400008. Real estate kingpins had been covetously eyeing the rundown tenements. The hope was that the dingy pinjras would slowly come to be replaced by plush high-rises, white-washing any stains of a murky past.
That day, 11th lane was cradled in chaos. A group of sex workers huddled around me, disturbed and desperate, as they spoke about the “burqewale log” or masked goons who’d beat them up with rods and chappals, threatening them to leave. The alleged harassment and growing anti-prostitution sentiment among the new conservative residents may have left them shaken, but despite the lack of support, they tenaciously held on. Between 2002 and 2012, Kamathipura’s sex workers had dwindled from 30,000 to roughly 2,000. The shrinking numbers had left many silenced. In a ruinous, decrepit pinjra that led into a maze of rooms, partitioned by thin curtains, I met more women, who feared stepping out and making a scene of protest. They spoke of having no one to plead their case to, because there was nobody to listen.
If this was the Bombay of the 1950s and ’60s, such a story, we recall thinking to ourselves, would have played out very differently. This was the era when Gangubai Kathewali or Kathiawadi as disparate accounts call her, the matriarch and self-appointed godmother to women living on the margins, reigned. I had heard of her during a chance conversation with a veteran journalist when we passed through her home in Kamathipura 12th lane; it later inspired my co-writer and I to pursue her story for a book we were then working on.
The “iron-willed” Gangubai’s life was not an ordinary rags-to-riches tale. Sources say she was tricked into prostitution as a young woman by her alleged lover. Gangubai who hailed from an affluent home in the Kathiawar region of Gujarat, never found the courage to return to her family. Instead, she chose the bold path, overturning misfortune to consolidate power—taking charge as brothel madam at a young age, and finding a friend in Pathan warlord Abdul Karim Lala—to become an equally revered and feared figure, who hobnobbed with journalists and politicians. She took the cudgels for her women, and minced no words, when taking down her detractors. Her wit was the stuff of lore. Local legend is that she met with Jawaharlal Nehru, seeking his intervention in a proposal to displace sex workers. How would Gangubai have responded to the anti-prostitution movement in Kamathipura of 2016? It’s not hard to imagine.
Yet, Gangubai’s (fondly known as Ganguma) role in safeguarding Kamathipura seems to have disappeared into oblivion after she passed on in the late 1970s. The renewed interest in her life has come with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Alia Bhatt-starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi that hit screens on Friday, and which was inspired from the book I co-authored with S Hussain Zaidi.
All writers have their quirks; some like me, are wary about book-to-screen adaptations. But, it’s hard to be indifferent about a character that’s so close to home, revived by an actor whose oeuvre is enviable. Interviewing Bhatt was more a project of curiosity.
The day I am to meet Bhatt, we’ve spent the day thinking about the real Gangu, whose legend permeated the gullies of Kamathipura. Except for a framed photograph I had seen hang on a wall in one of the houses I had visited during my research, I have no visual memory of her. Now, pictures of Bhatt in the film’s stills, where she has christened herself Gangubai, inundate my thoughts. Talk about how Bollywood can take up mind space. The ‘reel’ Gangu walks into the Bandra studio where we’ve been waiting for a while, her hurried steps making her aware that she has caused a slight delay. Her posse of stylists and makeup artists follow closely behind. Bhatt complains about the plastic chairs we are going to be sitting on—it’s not a starry tantrum, she’s just concerned about how it will look on video. She drops a quick, “hi”, requesting me to sit.
Edited excerpts from the interview.
Let’s start from the beginning. When you were approached to play the character, what were your first thoughts?
Fear (laughs). I was a bit confused about how I’d be able to portray her. She was very fierce, brave, sassy, and unique. For someone from that era to create waves with her words, with her conversation, and the way she thought—she literally started a movement to fight for the [cause of] women of Kamathipura. She did it because she believed in it. These are all amazing traits to portray, and it’s an author-backed role, so there was a lot of fear. But with time, it all settled. I was so taken in by the fact that Sanjay sir [Bhansali], who is a visionary, was choosing a subject like this—because it’s totally unlike the films he has done—and believed that I could portray Gangubai Kathiawadi.
You’ve done female-driven films before. There’s Highway, Dear Zindagi and Raazi—I personally think they are all very powerful, feminist films. How is Gangubai different?
In Gangubai, the character is the film. It’s a biopic; it’s based on a true life story; the character’s journey is very episodic. It’s these episodes in her life that brings the story together. For me, it’s one of the first films [I’ve done] that’s so character-driven. You know, even when I’m promoting the film, people ask me to do the Gangbai pose or say the Gangubai dialogue. Characters like these are not written often, and definitely not written for women. If you fall in love with the character, you’ll fall in love with the film.
As a student in Bombay, I had heard about Kamathipura, but it’s only when working on the book and subsequently, as a journalist, did I really experience what this place meant in the larger scheme of things. Generally, movies tend to paint a more colourful picture of a neighbourhood like it, but in reality it feels like a dark hole. The place may have been as unfamiliar to you, as it was once to me. Did you research or visit the place that your character inhabited?
We were going to do a trail, where I’d just drive through Kamathipura and see [the neighbourhood]. But, for some reason it never happened. And then [Sanjay] sir only said, ‘Hold on! If she hasn’t gone yet, let her not go’. [Incidentally] we were starting with a sequence [in the film] where she is thrown into a place that she doesn’t know [anything about].
On the first day of the shoot, I remember being very nervous. We started with a scene where it’s her first night in Kamathipura; it was also a difficult sequence. All the girls [actors] were sitting in their positions and getting ready before they went out [on work]. I was genuinely uncomfortable [watching the scene play out]—it was also visible in my body language. In a way it helped that I wasn’t well-versed with the area. It worked for that sequence.
As far as the research goes, I watched a few videos and documentaries that sir sent my way. There’s a certain hardness and blankness in the eyes [of the women], which comes from hitting rock bottom. It’s just about surviving and getting through the day.
But also vulnerable. How challenging was it for you to portray this dichotomy?
Often, while saying a dialogue, there’s actually a totally different dialogue playing out in the brain. So, this dichotomy [in Gangubai’s character] was very enjoyable to me—where, for instance, when she says, ‘Maa ka naam kaafi nahin hain,’ she is possibly abusing this person in her head. I love the fact that she is vulnerable, but also needs to display strength. I love that she is childish, but also mature.
Journalists have to think objectively about their characters; I think for an actor it may work differently. Were you emotionally invested in Gangubai’s story?
I don’t think I was able to separate myself from the character. I am able to separate myself from the day of work; after the shot is done, I can go back to not continuing to act, because I am not really a method actor in that sense. But, I think a part of the character is now in me, and I sort of feel comfortable that way. Every now and then people say, ‘now she is not talking like Alia, she talks like Gangu’. I think in my own Alia way, I have become Gangu. I lived vicariously through her; it’s a great feeling of abandon to be as free, open and clear as Gangu.
It’s been three years.
Yes, that’s right.
So, you’ve been living and breathing the character for this long.
A very long time, yes. Also, when I was shooting for this film, I was not shooting for anything else. I was living the character; even at home, I used to talk about it. I remember the first time I narrated the script to Ranbir [Kapoor], it was only in the middle of the pandemic. I was sitting and doing so much work on it, by myself. The stakes became much higher [with the pandemic], because you had to make sure that it’s a good product for people to come back to the theatres and watch.
Tell us which shade of Gangubai was most challenging for you to portray?
Venom. I remember this shot very clearly, where sir told me, ‘I want to see the venom in your eyes’. I don’t think I have venom in me to give. That comes from a hard place from being totally broken down. Sir told me to think of someone I didn’t like. And while I did that, nobody brought venom to my mind. That was a very difficult shot. Eventually, I don’t know how I did. I should ask him.
How was it working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali?
Amazing. With him, you feel alive, you know you are creating.
He is known to get the best out of actors.
Best out of everyone. Because he is not settling for mediocre involvement. He wants the highest output because that’s what he gives. When the day is not going well, sir will go to his van and change his clothes. He’ll come out in a new outfit, and say that he was feeling stuck and wanted to change. He allows for the creative juices to flow in such an unpredictable manner that he expects the same out of you as well.
While watching the trailer, and of course, the songs, I saw a very different Alia from what we’ve seen over the last decade. There’s something about the body language—the nuances of it. How tricky was it to imbibe this, considering apart from written material and photos of Gangu, you didn’t have anything else to fall back?
In fact, I find that most interesting. You have the final dish, but you don’t have the ingredients and now you need to figure how to put it all together. That is so much more enjoyable. Maybe someday, I will do a part, where I have to emulate the person exactly. And that will be a completely different kind of challenge.
Also, there were a few things we knew about her; if she came to Bombay to become an actor, she might have been a bit theatrical; if she gave this big speech, she might have been a great thinker. You kind of build that into the character.
There’s been some criticism about your portrayal from certain sections of the film industry.
I am not averse to criticism; I don’t think anyone needs to bow down to me. I am not even claiming to be a great actor. So, criticism doesn’t bother me in general; and people jumping the gun before watching my film also doesn’t affect me. I am the sort to believe in goodness and [spreading] positivity. So, negative and baseless things don’t reach my ears.
Alia, the actor, turns 10 this year. How would you define the decade?
Beautifully chaotic—lots of ups and downs. Every day has resulted in making me the person I am. So the description is not good, great, or successful; none of that. It’s a bit of a beautiful mess, and I love it.
After Gangubai’s death, busts were installed in Kamathipura, like this one inside a tenement that was reportedly under her jurisdiction. It carries the name Gangubai Harjeevandas Kathiyawadi and her date of passing September 8, 1977. It appears to have been installed in 1981 by “Sasa Ratna Alias Aunty Family”, according to the inscription below the bust. Pic/Shadab Khan
A photo frame of Gangubai hangs in one of the homes in Kamathipura. Pic courtesy/Westland Books
I can’t produce an action film as it needs a certain sensibility that I don’t have right now-Alia Bhatt
8:14 AM
Turning producer with Darlings after a stellar 10-year run in the industry, Alia says she intends to back new actors and directors through her studio
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; February 23, 2022)
We have all been witness to the remarkable acting career that Alia Bhatt has built in the past decade. Does that satisfy her creative spirit? Far from it. Which is why it wasn’t surprising when she took her love for cinema a step further by launching her own studio, Eternal Sunshine Productions, to mark her tenth year in the industry. “The thought of turning producer had been with me for a long time. In the last 10 years, I did what I wanted to as an actor. In the next 10, I want to build this studio,” says the new producer.
Firsts are always special. Bhatt holds her maiden production Darlings — starring Shefali Shah, Vijay Varma, Roshan Mathew and her — close to her heart. She says director Jasmeet K Reen’s film won her over with its honesty. “I love the genre of slice-of-life, heartwarming stories. I can’t produce an action film because it needs a certain sensibility that I don’t have right now. I want to stir thoughts and make people feel good. [I want to back] stories that make you feel a gamut of emotions.”
The vision for her studio is clearly etched in her head. As a producer, Bhatt intends to scout new talent and encourage newer stories. “When I got my first opportunity, I was young. The world might say I bought my way [into the industry], but it came to me after an audition, and I will never forget the gratitude [I felt]. I want to create that opportunity not just for actors, but also for young writers and directors. I want to back fresh talent. The director of Darlings is a first-time feature film director. The industry will go forward only if we bring fresh voices into our narratives.”
As she juggles the dual identities of actor and producer, she likes how far life has come. “Before Student Of The Year [2012], I went to my father’s [Mahesh Bhatt] office, shaking [in fear] that I won’t be able to act. He had told me then that I will feel this with every film. Emraan [Hashmi] was sitting there, mostly agreeing with my father. People think acting is a glamorous job, [but] you put yourself out there, to be judged by people. So, one has to focus on the intention. I intend to make good films.”
I asked Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Don’t you think I am a little young? He said, ‘I will make you do it’-Alia Bhatt
8:40 AM
Initially slated to do Inshallah with Bhansali, Alia on her apprehensions about switching to Gangubai Kathiawadi and finding her voice in the 10-year run in Bollywood
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; February 14, 2022)
In 2012, Alia Bhatt stepped into Bollywood, playing a rich brat in Karan Johar’s Student Of The Year. Cut to 2022: she is gearing up for the release of Gangubai Kathiawadi, the movie that the trade is pinning its hopes on this month. The past 10 years have been quite a journey for Bhatt as she grew from film to film, to emerge as one of the finest artistes of the current generation.
Now, as she headlines a Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie, the actor says her first reaction was fear. “I was scared. I was meant to do a love story with sir [Inshallah starring Salman Khan was called off]. Till that point, I hadn’t read the book [Mafia Queens Of Mumbai] or known the story of Gangubai. I didn’t expect a film of this nature at all. So, when I heard the narration, I asked sir everything I feared: Do you think I can do this? Don’t you think I am a little young? He said, ‘I will make you do it.’ It was then I told myself that there should be no scope of doubt in my head when a film like this comes my way. I had self-doubt. So, I put in all the extra effort I could. But in this case, doubt was the key to knowledge, which made me explore the extremes of what I can do with this part.”
Bhatt knew Gangubai Kathiawadi would be an opportunity of a lifetime. “Ek mauka tha, maine dil khol ke perform kiya,” she smiles, adding that she is unable to shake off the character even months after the shoot. “I have lived in Gangu’s world for two years. Even after we were done shooting, I would land up at sir’s office to watch the film’s visuals. I have never been this consumed by a character. SLB is the director I wanted to work with since I was nine.”
She is, in some ways, glad that Inshallah didn’t work out. “Ranveer [Singh] told me recently, ‘In Gangubai, you are in and as. You can’t ask for more.’”
With her film choices, she is making a statement on where she stands as an artiste. “I am unafraid to take that leap into unknown universes. I want to try everything. I walk into every film believing I’m meant for special things, and that powers me through.”
These are uncertain times but we have to make an effort-Alia Bhatt
8:30 AM
Alia Bhatt, who has resumed shooting, talks about making ‘the best of the situation’ and turning entrepreneur
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; December 6, 2020)
Unprecedented — this word sums up the year that 2020 has been so far. The pandemic threw not just Bollywood but the entire world into such a mayhem that we are still learning to cope with it. Alia Bhatt, reviewing 2020, says, “It’s been a challenging year for all of us.”
She had been busy round the clock — shooting for Brahmastra with Ranbir Kapoor and Gangubai Kathiawadi helmed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and giving final touches to her plans of becoming an entrepreneur — just before the lockdown was announced.
The actor tells us what all she was up to in the lockdown period: “When I realised I had all this time to myself, I decided to use it productively — learning more about the different aspects of business and the market. And of course, I used the time to catch up on my reading and binge watching.”
Now that the restrictions have been lifted and actors are getting back to work, Bhatt, too, returned to the sets of Gangubai... How does it feel being back at work after such a long time, and how the working experience has changed, with restrictions? She says, “It’s a great feeling to be reunited with the team and being back on the set. Of course, we have multiple restrictions and protocols to follow. Everyone is careful, taking all sorts of precautions. But we’ve accepted that this is the new normal, and we are all trying to make the best of the situation.”
The one thing she loves apart from, of course, acting, is supporting environmental causes. In the past too, Bhatt, who has turned entrepreneur with an eco-conscious kids clothing brand, has been an eco-warrior.
“Thanks to my sister Shaheen, I have always been concerned about animal welfare. Growing up, I started reading more about what impacts the environment and launched Coexist (an ecological initiative)... Realising that we are all housing an environmental threat in our wardrobes, I started MiSu, which is a closet sharing initiative,” the actor says.
Ask her if she had any apprehensions about returning to work in the current scenario, the 27-year-old replies, “We are all apprehensive, these are uncertain times but we have to make an effort and look at doing the best that we all can do. Also the ability to be back on set, doing what you love, is a blessing and I feel very grateful for every moment!”
I can’t get too attached to success or failure-Alia Bhatt
8:24 AM
Alia Bhatt says she has ‘understood the balance’ required in her ‘obsession with work’ and that beyond a point, she has to withdraw
Prashant Singh (HINDUSTAN TIMES; January 22, 2020)
It’s a rare feat of sorts that since her debut in 2012 [with Student Of The Year], Alia Bhatt hasn’t witnessed too many professional [box-office] setbacks. But 2019 was an aberration. While on one hand, she got rave reviews for her outing in Gully Boy, she also starred in Kalank that didn’t draw many to the theatres. And the actor readily admits the “disappointment” that came along with the failure.“Anyone who goes on a journey that you have a lot of expectations from is going to feel a certain kind of disappointment. Till date, I have not had too many failures; maybe just two. And my learning through both of them has been very different. But the main thing I’ve learnt is that you’ve to keep your head down, work hard and give your best at everything you do. Sometimes, you’ll go right and at times, you’ll go wrong as well,” says the actor.
Alia, who has had several hits to her credit by now, feels that failures have only “taught her invaluable lessons”. “As an actor, an entertainer and even as a person, I have understood the balance that is required in my obsession with work, wherein I am very ambitious and passionate about films, acting, the art and everything. But beyond a point, I can’t get too attached to the successes or the failures,” says the actor, who has a packed line-up this year with several back-to-back biggies.
“I derive my joy and happiness from being in front of the camera and learning through people I interact with on sets — whether it’s my director, co-actors or even the technicians. That’s my bliss. And after that, whatever happens, is the result of the hard work that everybody puts in. Hopefully, one goes more right than wrong but I feel sometimes, you have to go wrong to understand the importance of going right. And that’s something that is not in your control,” says Alia.
Vis-à-vis her film choices, Alia has been mixing it up since the start of her career, and she continues to do the same in 2020 as well. But does she find a lot of difference in terms of approaching her parts in completely dissimilar films such as Raazi (2018) and Gully Boy? “Shooting for Raazi was a little emotional [experience], also because I shot it at one go, with no break. Probably, that’s why the character connected and stayed with me. But vis-à-vis Gully Boy, the way I looked at the character was really fun and easy. It was like a break from all my other intense characters,” she says.
Why is Alia Bhatt feeling guilty?
“Though Gully Boy was intense, I had a lot of fun when I was shooting for it, mainly due to Safina’s (the character she played in the film) infectious spirit. I remember feeling happy every day, which is very unusual for me because usually, I am self-critical and don’t like talking too much about my work. Now, when people tell me how amazing my performance is in it, I feel guilty as I wonder, ‘did I work hard?’ or ‘why do I deserve this kind of appreciation (laughs)?’ I also enjoyed watching my performance, which usually doesn’t happen. I enjoyed the film since it’s so beautiful, and was an unusual experience.”
I wanted to work with Sanjay Leela Bhansali sir since I was nine-Alia Bhatt
9:30 AM
Prashant Singh (HINDUSTAN TIMES; January 1, 2020)
Coming up in 2020: Sadak 2, Gangubai Kathiawadi, RRR and Brahmastra
Super-loaded could well be the correct term to describe the new year for you. Agree?
God willing, 2020 is going to be quite a year. I think having two releases a year is good enough but this year, I have four. I hope they all create a little place in people’s hearts. They are all very special to me.
To start with, you have a film with your father, Mahesh Bhatt…
Firstly, working with him was extremely special. And now, as we ready for the release of my first film [Sadak 2], helmed by dad, it feels unbelievably special. Brahmastra, too, is very special for so many reasons. I’m so excited about it. Then, I am working with Sanjay [Leela Bhansali] sir for the first time in Gangubai.
Is it true that working with Bhansali has been a long-standing dream?
That’s something I have looked forward to since I was nine. So, you can say that the dream I had as a nine-year-old is coming true now. And then, I am thrilled to be working with S S Rajamouli sir, who is one of the most celebrated filmmakers of the country and someone whose films are looked forward to by all of us. It’s great that I am getting to be a part of his film’s journey. Maybe, we can talk next December to assess how 2020 went by for me (laughs).
Are you content with the way 2019 panned out for you?
Last year, I had two releases. While one [Gully Boy] did extremely well, I expected the other [Kalank] to also get the equal amount of love. But it didn’t connect with audiences, and that’s how things go. You have a high and then, there can be a low, too. I guess that’s a part of learning, that nothing is permanent. Everything shall change.
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