Imtiaz Ali shared an incident when a crew member snooped around Alia Bhatt when she was changing dress, after which he had to take a strict call against him.
Alia Bhatt, a powerhouse of talent in Bollywood, has mesmerised us with her acting skills. Her journey started with the movie, Student Of The Year and has been a rollercoaster of success and growth. In 2022, she embarked on a new chapter in her life, marrying Ranbir Kapoor. The same year, they were blessed with their cute daughter, Raha.
Alia Bhatt's 2014 film, Highway, proved her acting mettle in the industry and established her as a profound actress. The film was directed by Imtiaz Ali, and most of the shooting was done in India's rural areas with no access to vanity vans. Imtiaz Ali shared a creepy incident from the film's set at the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.
Alia Bhatt was merely 20 years old when her film, Highway was released. The film was a commercial success and even garnered much appreciation from critics. Talking about the movie's making process, Imtiaz Ali added that the majority of the film was shot outdoors, and the actors did not even have amenities like vanity vans. The cast and crew, including Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda, had to go to odd places to change and to attend nature's call. Imtiaz Ali further shared:
“There have been three times in my entire life that I’ve sent people (crew members) back, from different places, from different sets. I am happy that it’s only three. I remember once it happened on the sets of Highway. We were shooting on the rural highway with Randeep and Alia and there were no proper vanity vans back in 2013. Alia had to change, go for nature’s call in different, unusual places."
Imtiaz shared that once, during the movie's filming, he had to make a strict call and send back a crew member for his inappropriate behaviour with Alia Bhatt. The crew member was snooping around Alia Bhatt while she was changing her clothes. However, the situation now has changed and the amenities for the cast are now much better. In Imtiaz Ali's words:
"Once I had to send this guy back from the set when he was trying to be around her during that time. So yes, it did happen with me as a filmmaker thrice, but not anymore. Times have changed, changed drastically. Actresses are really safe on the sets. It’s not like that anymore.”
Imtiaz, in a special episode of Mid-Day's Sit With Hitlist series, shared his vision for the lead character in Highway. He initially wanted to cast a more mature woman, even considering Aishwarya Rai as a potential choice. However, he never approached her. Later, he found Alia to be the perfect fit for the role and cast her. Imtiaz was quoted as saying:
"I always wanted to cast a slightly elder, like a woman of at least 30. I didn't want to cast a more mature woman who's had experiences of the type that she was going to talk about in the film. Aishwarya Rai without any makeup would be a great choice."
Let us know your views on Imtiaz Ali's revelations.
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