By now, it’s a given that whatever Alia Bhatt touches turns to screen gold. That, more than ever, is set to manifest itself yet again this Friday with the release of Gangubai Kathiawadi. Directed by auteur Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Gangubai Kathiawadi has Alia slipping into the skin of its eponymous real-life protagonist, a potent mixture of chaos and charm, who rises from her life as a sex worker in the red-light district of Kamathipura in 1960s Mumbai to take on the political and social might of a predominantly prejudiced society.
On Monday, Alia — who has made everyone sit up and take notice of her chameleonic turn in the film — was in Calcutta to promote Gangubai Kathiawadi. Over a long, freewheeling conversation at JW Marriott Kolkata, we chatted about what’s changed in Alia as an actor post being Gangubai, the experience of working with Bhansali, clocking a decade in the movies and why she finally needs a time-out.

Apart from the fact that Gangubai Kathiawadi is such an important film in your decade-long career, do the emotions hit differently just because this is a release in movie theatres for you after such a long time? Kalank released almost three years ago.

I think so. The reason why people will go to the theatres now is much deeper. That’s because there has been a certain value that has come in for cinema. We all loved the big-screen movie-going experience even before the pandemic, but I think we have understood its true value now when we felt like, ‘Will we lose it forever?’ You know na how it feels when you are about to lose something... that’s when you understand its value even more. So definitely it hits differently.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali has said that when he first narrated the story of Gangubai Kathiawadi to you, you picked up your bag and ran out of his office! What’s the story behind that?

(Smiles) I was supposed to do a film called ‘Inshallah’ with Sanjay sir and that was going to happen before Gangubai was even in the picture. But that didn’t work out for whatever reasons. But sir being true to his word, called me back to his office and said, ‘I have another script for you and this is what it is’. ‘Inshallah’ was a very different genre and so when he narrated the script of Gangubai to me, it took me a few seconds to digest that this is a completely different world. And I think that’s what happened to me (laughs).

I am a very transparent person... I can’t conceal any of my emotions. The fear in my eyes, that’s what Sanjay sir saw (smiles). And that’s right.. I was scared! I was just not sure how I was going to pull it off. I did ask him, ‘Sir, do you think I will be able to do it? Do you think I am too young?’ (Smiles) And he was like, ‘No, I am clear. But you have to be clear. So you let me know.’

I went back home that day and I realised, ‘Oh God, what am I doing?! This is a director who I have wanted to work with since I was nine.’ So I rushed back to his office the next day and I said, ‘Sir, I can even play a wall in your film (laughs)… let’s do this.’ Honestly, I was scared whether I would be able to make this land. When I read the script, the dialogues, the personality... it was so powerful and so overwhelming... so many miles away from who I am as a person and from the films I have done so far. But that I guess is also the challenge that sir wanted. And then we went for it. From that point, there was no turning back.

There are so many sheroes who spend their lives in the shadows and eventually fade away. Had you heard of Gangubai before you were offered the part? It’s a brilliant story...

Oh, a truly brilliant story! To be honest, I was in shock. Firstly, I didn’t know that there was a story like this and that’s anyway the precise point of the film. It’s the biopic of a woman that not many would think of making a biopic on. Why? Because of her profession. But that should be no way of discriminating between people, especially since this profession (prostitution) has been part of society since Adam’s time. It’s one of the oldest and that’s something that Gangubai even mentions in her speech.

I found her story to be very inspiring. This was a woman who didn’t choose this life and despite that, she decided to fight for these people. Even though she hated this world and wanted to go back to being a normal girl again, she decided to fight for those in this profession. In a world, especially today, where everyone is so self-centered, here is a woman who put herself last.

Alia with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali (right) and her Gangubai Kathiawadi co-star Ajay Devgn

After playing her, how has your idea of empowerment changed?

I have realised that empowerment is not given to you, it comes from within. You may feel that so many agree with me, so I am in power; so many people love my work, so I am in power; so many people listen to me, so I am in power. But that’s absolutely wrong. If you don’t empower yourself from the inside, then all your life, you will only be looking for other peoples’ validation. That really changed my perspective... even that line that Gangubai says... just live with respect, don’t be scared of anybody. Believe in your own power, believe in yourself. Because that’s the only way other people will respect you.

Walk and talk to accent and attitude, Gangubai’s portrayal must have required a whole lot of work. Is this the toughest in your career so far, just in terms of preparation and the process of internalising the character?

Yes. More than internalising, it’s the toughest physical experience I have been through. Not a second of playing Gangubai was within my comfort zone. So when you are out of your comfort zone for so many hours in a day, it is very, very exhausting. Also, on set, Sanjay sir is very dexterous... he can think and dance and write and make music and run around at the same time. He has so many strengths and he applies them all at once. So when you are with him, you need to do the same thing. There is never a moment of inertia on his set. And that’s why people who work with him cannot work anywhere else. That’s because the demand for excellence that comes in when you are working with him, once you tap into it, you are bound to go, ‘Okay, now I have tasted this and I need to get it again.’ Anything else feels far lesser.

It was so challenging! I wouldn’t even know when the day would end. I would come to set and in a flash, it would be time to go home. That’s how mentally switched on I was.

Are you a different actor post the Gangubai Kathiawadi experience?
Totally! I am not the same actor. I don’t approach scenes the same way, I don’t look at a film or a part only from my perspective.... Also, Sanjay sir gave me so much leeway as an actor and as a thinker. I have not just acted... I have been involved in every scene, and he expects that out of everybody. He would, in fact, sit behind the monitor and tell me, ‘You are going to direct some day’ (smiles). And when I would say it’s so difficult, he would be like, ‘No, I see it in you and you should.’

So somewhere he empowered me to be involved in this film beyond just being an actor. Now I believe that my contribution to a film is not just what I do in front of the camera. I also have to be considerate, concerned and aware of what’s happening around me, how the story is playing out, what the other actors are doing.... Some films will not require this kind of involvement, but some will. Even if I am not spelling it out verbally, I know I will be saying it in my head (smiles).

Is that the vision with which you have ventured into production?

There was a time right after Raazi when I realised that if a film comes to me and I see I can help it in some way, I will take the initiative of producing it. Also, it’s the only way I will be able to meet with new writers and directors.... For me, the whole point of turning producer is to discover and aid other peoples’ journey. How long am I going to fuel my engine alone? (Smiles) That’s something my dad (film-maker Mahesh Bhatt) told me... that after a certain time, my brand needs to help create other brands. And honestly, I don’t want to be only involved in my life forever (smiles).

Alia in Gangubai Kathiawadi

And no better time than now considering the booming Indian creative space....

The good thing is that with time, we have realised the value of writers. That was not so even 10 years ago when I entered the industry. It’s so different now. The demand and the need for good writers is huge... we now get to hear words like ‘showrunner’ and all that....

I have worked in a fair number of films, but I have interacted only with the director and sometimes with the writer of a film. Now, my horizon has broadened so much after Gangubai Kathiawadi, and I have realised that there are so many aspects that go into making that piece of art assume a form on celluloid. So I need to get out there and interact with the people who are creating this. And that’s why I am going around and sort of plastering it everywhere that if there is anyone who wants to be a writer or director, just get in touch. I have an Instagram page of my production house and I am looking to give new talent and new people a chance.

Ten years ago, I got that chance and that’s why I am here today. I was just a 17-year-old girl who had a dream and I walked into Karan’s (Johar) office, I gave an audition and I got Student of the Year. I was given a chance and I would like to do that for someone else as well.

You just said that you wanted to work with Sanjay Leela Bhansali since you were nine. Was there a particular film that triggered that dream in young Alia?

Oh, so many! Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam is definitely one. Right from Aishwarya’s (Rai) introduction to when she and Salman (Khan) meet for the first time... uff! (Smiles) Till today that scene — the chandelier moving and the two of them looking into each others’ eyes — is etched in my mind. There is so much poetry in every frame of his. That’s when it started and then the obsession just kept growing. Even as recently as Padmaavat, so many scenes of Khilji (played by Ranveer Singh) were so poetic even though he’s the antagonist. There was so much agony in his eyes. I love the whole dichotomy of it. After working with Sanjay sir, I have realised that there is not one emotion in his frame, there are at least seven (laughs). You have to just find it.

Your look in Gangubai Kathiawadi is so retro glam. Did you have fun embracing that era?

Absolutely! I think I am born in the wrong era (laughs). I love everything retro, whether it’s car or furniture or interior design... I am all for vintage. Modern cuts, modern silhouettes, modern whatever... I don’t understand them visually.

After Gangubai, I can now sleep in a sari, I enjoy wearing them so much now because I literally lived in saris throughout this film. I really enjoyed the process of dressing up using roses and perfume... this character was so much about tapping into my feminine side, and at the same time, she has a very strong male side as well. She is super androgynous, but she’s feminine and also has a masculine side to her. I loved that whole play of gender that we have touched upon very subtly in this film. Like there is a scene in this film where she is wearing a lungi with gold jewellery and drinking Rani Chhaap, which is this very hard liquor, and she’s picking out saris... so basically, she’s doing everything. And that, I think, is such powerful commentary. The film embraces so much of the times we are in, especially gender fluidity, but it’s set in the 1960s.

This October you will complete a decade as an actor. Considering how well it has panned out for you, what will you tell the Alia on the first day of the shoot of Student of the Year? What was the first day like?

I was very, very quiet. I was very scared. If I had to look back, I would tell my younger self that she would have to make a lot of sacrifices and that she should be prepared. As I approach 30, I am realising how many years I just lost... I couldn’t even hang out with my friends. When they were making memories, I was making movies (smiles). Now, given the point I have reached in life, I want to create that balance with work on one hand and my friends and family on the other.

To get to where I am today, I have had to make sacrifices, I have had to spend holidays and birthdays working, I have missed out on impromptu trips and a lot of family time as well. I have been on the go, living out of a suitcase for a very long time. There has been chaos and in some instances, I have thrived in this chaos... but now I have reached that point where I need less of the chaos and more of the calm.