Want to do front foot characters and mass entertainers now: Alia Bhatt on 10 years in cinema

Alia Bhatt, who completes a decade in films this year, says she wants to continue proving her mettle in acting by being part of movies that “make her heart skip a beat”. The 28-year-old actor, daughter of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and actor Soni Razdan, made her feature film debut as a lead with 2012’s Student of the Year alongside other first-timers Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan. When she entered the film industry, the actor said she wanted to balance her acting career and was keen to show her versatility as an actor. (so) I picked up roles that are challenging and less safe, said the actor. Going forward, Bhatt, whose film credits include Highway, Udta Punjab, Dear Zindagi, Raazi, and Gully Boy, said she wants to work on character-oriented and mass entertainer projects. “Now, in this part of life, I want to do front foot characters and mass entertainers because that is not easy to do either. I first wanted to prove to myself that I can act then prove to the world, which simultaneously happened. And it will continue to happen. I don’t disappoint people. From now on, I want to just enjoy films. Now it is about: ‘I will do a film that will make my heart skip a beat’. I will do a film that gives me energy every time I wake, a film that makes me want to rush to sets. And that is now my process and that will keep me happy along the way,” Alia told PTI in an interview here.

Last year, the actor also turned producer with Darlings, which she has backed under her banner Eternal Sunshine Productions. The upcoming dark-comedy is billed as a story of a quirky mother-daughter duo starring Shefali Shah and Alia.

The film, also produced by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment, features Vijay Varma and Roshan Mathew as well.

“It has been 10 years for me in the industry and my next 10-year plan is to build my production house,” she added.

Alia is also excited about her forthcoming film Jee Le Zaara, a road trip drama co-starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Katrina Kaif. It will be directed by Farhan Akhtar who has co-written the film with his sister Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti. “It is high time girls picked up and did a film together,” Alia said. She will next be seen in Gangubai Kathiawadi, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Also produced by Bhansali and Jayantilal Gada’s Pen Studios, the film will hit the screens Friday. Her other upcoming projects also include pan India magnum opus RRR, superhero film Brahmastra, and romantic drama Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani.