Alia Bhatt’s latest film, the action thriller Jigra, did not live up to the hype. With Rs 4.55 crore, it registered the lowest opening for the actor in 10 years. Barely a dozen years old in the industry, she has earned herself a reputation of being a risk taker as she revelled in the unpredictability of it all. She was the star kid whose acting prowess was never questioned, and for good reason.
After debuting with the frothy high school drama Student of the Year, she shed all the glam to play the sexually abused teenager in Highway. She was an ambitious air hostess in Badrinath ki Dulhania, only to morph into a spy for Meghana Gulzar’s Raazi.
Even in her bit role in Gully Boy, she lit up the screen as a headstrong medical student. Bhatt never got complacent. After bagging the National Award for Gangubai Kahiawadi, which was the biggest grosser of 2021, she turned producer with the dark comedy Darlings. And, then jumped right into the shoes of a vivacious journalist in Rocky Rani Ki Prem Kahani, with a quick Hollywood-bound detour on the way to play the antagonist in Heart of Stone.
Bhatt is a big believer in luck. In Jigra, she plays the sister on a mission to save her brother on death row with a familiar dexterity, yet the film received mixed reviews. Is it as much an anomaly in her career, as she has been in Bollywood, or is Bhatt’s luck running out? Excerpts from the interview:
In the action-packed 'Jigra', you play Satya, who plots an ambitious jailbreak to rescue her brother. What drew you to the story?
Yes, there is action since it is a situational plot, but what drew me to the story was its emotional core. I had signed Jigra soon after my daughter was born, so I was bursting with this protective instinct. I loved that the character dynamics were subtle, and there was an underlined energy that you know exists.
And, it was built cleverly, so it was easy for Vedang and me to flow into the scenes. Also, the brother-sister dynamics in the film is something we had never seen before onscreen. The action did come as a surprise to me as well. There was no rehearsal at all. Vasan told me I needed to run, jump and roll, and I just went along with it. It was all very instinctive at my end. But my takeaway is that even though there is action, it comes encased with emotion, and the viewer can feel it too.
Filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh recently said that we were lucky to be living in the times of Alia Bhatt because of your diverse filmography. What is your process to choose films?
Great directors. Filmmaking is a director’s medium, and I feel I have genuinely been blessed. When I read scripts, I first respond to them as an audince, and then think through my perspective as an actor. I do believe that luck has had a large part to play in my getting the roles that I have. I never calculate or strategise; I go with my gut.
I have an overactive imagination. I can be pragmatic in one moment, and detached from reality and dreamy in another. I am never in the same zone. Maybe that’s the reason I choose different characters; it just keeps me entertained. I love a good challenge.
Even though I may be a co-producer on Jigra, when I am on set, I am like a director’s puppet who gives in to their vision entirely. For me, the journeys of an actor and director are important, and honestly, whatever may be the fate of Jigra, I am happy about how in sync Vasan and I were throughout the making of this film, and I shall always cherish it. There is no secret to success other than to keep working and moving forward.
How would you define yourself as an actor?
I think it would be sad to be definable. Maybe 20 years down the line, I may have a better understanding.
You, and your husband Ranbir Kapoor, are all set to reunite once again onscreen after Brahamastra in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love and War. What is the synergy between the two of you as actors?
My husband is my best friend, and a wonderful actor. The moments I cherish the most are when both of us brainstorm over our scenes at home. Whether it is Gangubai, Jigra or Rocky Rani, we discussed it all. We did the same during during Animal. We do that, especially when one of us feels deadlocked. But 90 per cent of our conversations are not about work. We have things we like to do together as a family.
Your daughter Raha turns two soon. Which is that one film of yours you would want her to watch first?
I am not sure yet, since it’s an important decision to make. But just the other day, she watched the first song I had ever shot, Radha Teri Chunari from Student of the Year, along with her father’s Badtameez Dil from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.
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