Two Years Of Gully Boy, Alia Bhatt Attended Workshops For The First Time

By the  time of Alia Bhatt did Gully Boy she had gotten  used  to being the central character  in all her films. In Gully Boy, Ranveer  Singh was  had the main role. Alia  as Safeena  his girlfriend had very little screen space. In fact she wasn’t even in the original plot!

In an   interview  with me just after  the  release of Gully Boy Alia had said, “Honestly I  don’t have to be at the centre  of  every film I do.That would be vain and boring.I’d rather be in films that are exciting and challenging  to me as an actor than  just think about my own role. In Raazi I was  the central  character. In Gangubhai Kathiawadi  I  am again the  central  character. But in Udta  Punjab and  Gully Boy I am not .It was always Ranveer Singh as the central character.And I’m quite okay  with that. I am very happy with my role.”

Alia  also  spoke  to me  about  how  excited she  was  to work with Zoya Akhtar.  “My director Zoya Akhtar  guided me through the role. For  the  first time in  my career  I did an acting workshop. I  had  never done  a workshop before. Not even for  Raazi.”

  Alia says  doing Gully Boy was fun. “It was like going to school.Within three days I was talking, walking behaving like  Safeena. I was  like, ‘Wow this is a load  off my shoulder!’ I now realize that if  I’ve a grip on my character beforehand  , going on the set  and  playing  the role becomes so much easier. I am  definitely going to recommend  doing workshops with  my other  directors.Of course every director has his or her own process. But I will definitely explore  character-finding methods with other  directors.”

Alia kept her word. She  diligently attended  acting workshops before beginning work on Sanjay Leela  Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi. And yes, this time she is the central character, present  in amost  every frame  of  the  film.