She spellbound the audience with her role in Udta Punjab, and has been mesmerising them once again as a cinematographer in her recently released film Dear Zindagi. On her visit to the capital to promote the film, Alia Bhatt spoke about her selection of scripts, and how she is a compulsive storyteller and more.
Talking about doing non-glamourous roles lately, the 23-year-old actress shares, “I am glad that I got the opportunity to do a film like Dear Zindagi or Udta Punjab. I want to fit into any kind of mould. But that does not mean I will not do glamorous roles. I grew up watching Karishma Kapoor and Govinda dancing around trees and in the middle of the road. I aspired to become an actress watching these glamorous films. And also, most importantly my career started with one such role.”
However, the beautiful actress shares that she finds glam or de-glam roles equally challenging to essay. She adds, “I like doing off-beat flicks but I would like to do on-beat films often as well. My father once told me that people will keep saying ‘I want to do something out-of-the-box’ but then he asked me if I know what is in that box? ‘Have you been inside the box that you want to know what is outside it?’.”
Alia shares that she selects films based on her connect with the storyline as she herself loves to narrate stories. “I was once called a liar during my school days by my friends because I would make up random stories. I was an obsessed narrator. Stories have always been an integral part of my life and I instantly connect with them. I believe that I am able to justify a role only because I could connect with the story and the character,” shares the Highway actress.
Alia, whose character in Dear Zindagi is seen dealing with break-ups, says that “there is no fixed formula to get over a break-up in life.” She says, “It is a very clichéd thing to say but like how the wounds on our body heal over time, the heart too heals itself. It is just that we (as humans) are very impatient and we want to fix it (pain, heart-break) quickly. We don’t ever want to feel any pain.” Probe her more on her personal formula and she quickly shares, “I take a holiday or talk to a friend... Not that I have had a lot of break ups but I have had my share, maybe one or two.”
Though the actress is in her early 20s but does she have a caricature of an ideal man in her mind? She smiles, “There is no such things as an ideal guy! It is actually the way you feel for a person. However, one thing — which is a must for me — is a great sense of humour.”
Her portrayal of Kaira in her recently released movie has been gaining appreciation, and Alia says that she actually relates quite well to this particular character: “I relate to Kaira more than any character I have essayed so far. I think a lot of young people will relate to her too. She has a lot of insecurities that she has to overcome. She is moody, so am I. However, I am not as impulsive as she is but yes I related a lot to the way she thinks.”
