She frowned upon Hindi film tropes and mainstream Bollywood movies, but in 2012, discovered a new actor who made her sit up and take notice despite the cliched debut. Sucharita Tyagi writes about the allure of Alia Bhatt, and how she grew into an ardent admirer of the young superstar’s evocative performances
As a girl growing up into a woman, I went through various phases of taking myself too seriously. In 2012, I frowned upon make-up, pretty dresses and song-and-dance routines in Hindi cinema. Good sense has prevailed since then, but yes, a 24-year-old me couldn’t wrap her head around “Radha on the dance floor....” That is until I actually saw Student Of The Year (2012), a movie I’d already decided I wasn’t going to like.
But as hard as I tried, I just could not tear my eyes away from the screen for even a second every time this new girl appeared. This was despite the numerous cliches including slow motion bikini shots and unreal high school romances. What was it about this actor? What made me want to watch her do this again and again?
I didn’t get an answer until her second release: Imtiaz Ali’s heartbreaking directorial, Highway (2014). Here, a mere 21-year-old Alia was seen living a life full of horrors that I would imagine, she had been sheltered from in real life. This was a performance so masterful, I didn’t even realise how badly I had been waiting to watch something like this. I left the theatre in tears, unable to put my thoughts together for a couple of hours — I was feeling way too many emotions all together, but was also numb.
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