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Alia Bhatt is a 21-year-old Bollywood
actress, who with just three movies released
so far, has taken the Indian film industry by
storm. She is growing exponentially as an
actor with every movie that she stars in, and
has thus built a reputation as the ‘next big
thing’ in Bollywood. However, there seem
to be some discrepancies in her maturity on
screen when she is in character, and off
screen when she is plain old Alia Bhatt.
Maybe it’s a Public Relations exercise in
building her image as the young, vivacious
yet innocent, rich ‘dumb-blonde’. Maybe
she, albeit being a talented actress, is not as
well versed in, well, general knowledge.
The progression of Alia’s career so far sees a
move from a role that portrays her as a rich,
spoilt brat who does not care about much
other than herself and her clothes, as Shanaya
in ‘Student of the Year’, to a strong,
independent,
career-orientated
young
woman, as Ananya in ‘2 States’.
‘Student of the Year’ directed by the
infamous Karan Johar, is the typical big
budget Bollywood movie with the entourage
of a star-studded cast, over-the-top costumes
and exotic locations. The story of a girl who
is in a relationship with one person while
having feelings for another, that leads to the
men battling it out for the exclusive right of
being Shanaya’s man is a recipe for
commercial success. Alia’s character is an
epitome of all that glitters and is expensive.
Everything she walks in or sets foot on has a
designer label attached to it. There is very
little depth of character, save the constant
chant of wanting to be loved. Her decision to
debut with this film put her in the lime light,
as these ‘masala’ (spicy) films are the ones
that attract the highest number of viewers in
India and in Bollywood markets elsewhere.
Alia’s role in Highway, directed by the more
non-conformist director Imtiaz Ali, reveals a
whole new side of her acting capability. This
is the story of the daughter of a rich,
influential man, who is kidnapped days
before her wedding. In the process of hiding
her from the police, her kidnapper transports
her across India and Alia’s character
develops Stockholm syndrome. Set against
the stunning backdrop of India, as Bollywood
has never shown it before, Alia’s character
Alia Bhatt; Bollywood diva or gifted artist?
By Jumana Abuwala
goes from being sympathetic towards her captor
to falling in love with him. Post the film’s
release, the director revealed that much of the
scenes were impromptu, the actors essentially
reacted to a basic idea of the plot, inspired by a
road-trip across India. Perhaps thus the movie is
the most apt portrayal of Alia’s gift of
expression. At the climax of the film, her
revelations about childhood sexual abuse at the
hands of a family friend, her description of
trauma and the anger towards her family’s
demand to keep quiet are painfully beautiful, in
an aching monologue she lays herself bare and
stuns the audience. As critic Anupama Chopra
describes Alia’s performance for The Hindustan
Times, “It’s deeply moving. Her honesty and
courage, both as actor and character, is
exhilarating.” The film is loaded with high
points that make her performance unforgettable.
She immerses herself in the role and makes the
audience smile with her in times of joy and weep
with her when her hidden distresses are
disclosed.
This performance set the
bar for her most recent
role in ‘2 States’ and she
does not disappoint. Her
role as a Tamil IIM
student who falls in love
with a fellow Punjabi
classmate
and
experiences the plight of
maintaining
a
relationship in the face
of ethnic bias, a problem
that
many
young
Indians, and South East
Asians face. The process
of winning her in-laws
over
while
never
forgetting her identity as
a strong woman, never
sacrificing her principles
for the sake of a man,
her character is an
inspiration for modern
Indians and a refreshing
change
given
the
patriarchal nature of Indian society,
and cinema.
“She immerses
herself in the
role and makes
the audience
smile with her
in times of joy
and weep with
her when her
hidden
distresses are
disclosed”
‘Highway’ theatrical poster