JOIN USAlia: Working with Bhansali a fabulous experience for actors
Alia Bhatt, who is blessed with an indefinable charisma, has completed 10 years in the industry. She has progressively shown what she is made of in movies as varied as ‘2 States’, ‘Highway’ (2014), ‘Udta Punjab’ (2016), ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhania’ (2017), ‘Raazi’ (2018) and ‘Gully Boy’ (2019). The trailer of ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ has set her fans and cine-buffs thrilled at yet another brilliant, possibly award-winning essay from the actor.
“I am not a method actor. In this case, I lived with the character for two years. I disconnect from my films only after they release. I prefer to give the audience a variety and also follow a good work-ethic for my producers,” she says.
Thrilled that the film is set to release on February 25, she finds big-screen watching “irreplaceable”. As she puts it, “A ‘Highway’ or an ‘Udta Punjab’ was about performances. Here, it is performance plus entertainment. This movie has the visual splendour, music and intensity that Bhansali-sir’s films are known for.”
Alia is thrilled about other major releases of the year: ‘RRR’ and ‘Brahmastra: Part 1: Shiva’. “These three films are my biggest ever!” she smiles. She is also turning producer with the film ‘Darlings’. “The film is complete. I turned producer organically. Who knows? A day might come when I will even turn director!” she quips.
Voice modulation
She spoke about her preparations for ‘Gangubhai Kathiawadi’. “I worked on voice modulation. There was an extra base in my voice. I had a dialect coach. There was a Gujarati characteristic in my accent mixed with what is known as a Bambaiya twang that people have in Mumbai. There is a sing-song way of delivering my lines. But after a while, all of it came naturally,” she explained
Understanding a character, and absorbing its nature and body language are key to good performances, she adds. “It’s also about not trying too hard to make a point or make your language land.”
How much of her performance was due to Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and how much to Alia’s credit? “Most of it is sir, because it is his vision!” she replies candidly. “I say this with lot of appreciation because he really likes his actors to get involved. He plants a thought, and several alternatives, in the smallest of actors, and asks what they feel. Over a period of time, I became in sync with his thoughts. But he would still ask, ‘Tumko kya lagta hai’ (What do you think)? I think that we have great synergy!”
She goes on, “He is a fabulous experience for actors. Nobody has wanted me to do so well before. I was being pushed to do my best. For him, a scene is not at all what is on paper. He wants you to get involved in it.”
Big B comparison
Having watched films like ‘Mandi’ (1983) and ‘Pakeezah’ (1972) to get a sense of the kotha (brothel), Alia says ‘Gangubhai Kathiawadi’ is not a typical film about a character from the red-light area. “I watched some documentaries as well, and saw the deadness on their faces, as they know that their lives have hit rock-bottom. But this woman is a fighter. She turns all her unhappy and stressful situations into her source of power, and uses that power to help others. And there is still a lot more to her! Some people have called me ‘Char foot ka Amitabh’ (a short Amitabh Bachchan) in the way she fights for other women or children,” she says.
There are talks that Bhansali might revive his ‘Inshallah’, and has also signed her for ‘Baiju Bawra’. “I have as much info as you do,” she answers mischievously.