Alia skeptic about pulling audience to theatres for 'Highway'

Actress Alia Bhatt, who will be seen in Imtiaz Ali's 'Highway', is not sure if she can manage a good opening for the film as she is just one-film-old in the industry.

"I being one film old, (my film) will not get good opening or a good weekend. If it's a good film and audience can relate to it, its honesty and sincerity, they will watch it. But if they cannot see that, it will flop," Alia told PTI.

"Today a good film always does well regardless of the genre. Films like 'Shahid', 'BA Pass' got lot of appreciation. Things are changing now, people are accepting good cinema. The word of mouth plays an important role today for non commercial films. It takes time for such (non-massy) films to do well... it is a gamble," she said.

Alia said she is scared ahead of 'Highway' release. "I am not confident at all...my confidence is zero, I think it will be for every film. It is probably more for 'Highway' because it is a grilling kind of film. I am scared," she said.

Imtiaz had come to Alia's house with the script and the moment she read it, she started dreaming about the film. Since the story moves to several places in India including Delhi, Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and others, it was quite stressful but the actress never gave up.

"I did not feel like giving up, I was wondering how am I still doing it. I was proud of myself, I really pushed myself a lot. There was physical exertion but mentally you feel you can stretch to it. I have pushed myself a lot physically and I am happy about it," she said.

Praising Imtiaz for his work, Alia said, "He is a very pure soul, whether it is his intensity, dedication or passion towards his work, everything is there. He is what he is, there is no fuss or anything fake, that is what I love about him," she said.

On the unusual pairing of her and Randeep Hooda in the movie, she said, "It is intentionally done. The unusual pairing is done for a reason. Randeep is a buddy and it was fun working with him." 'Highway' hits theatres on February 21.