“I feel grateful; but I don’t take it to my head, I take it to my heart” says Alia Bhatt on receiving praise for her performance in Gangubai Kathiawadi

Alia, I’ve never seen such praise for anyone before. How does it make you feel?
How does it make me feel? I feel grateful. But I don’t take it to my head. I take it to my heart. Because I know the compliments are coming from the heart

Your godfather Karan Johar was deeply moved by your performance in Gangubai Kathiawadi?
Yes, he was deeply moved. I was deeply moved by his response. So it was a very emotional moment for both of us. Karan is like a father to me. I really value that relationship.

What did your actual father Mahesh Bhatt think of the film?
Oh, he loved it! Since he saw it, he has been constantly monitoring its progress, speaking to various people in the trade. He was saying all along that this would change everything for me.

From Rekha and Vidya Balan to Anurag Kashyap and I still don’t get how someone so you digest so many lavish compliments? Is there a magic mantra?
There is no magic mantra. It just feels wonderful to be loved so much. Gangubai Kathiawadi is a film I invested a lot of energy and commitment into. My involvement was very high in this project. I really, really worked on it, so much so that it has left me exhausted, and I need a break.

I know this is the first we saw an actor getting exhausted on camera at the end of a dance sequence?
(Laughs) Yes, that was me actually exhausted on camera. That was the intent. More than the physical it was the emotional exhaustion of that moment. Gangubai had spoken to her mother after many years just a few scenes earlier. She needed to let all the pain and anguish out. It was a deflected rage.

As you walked talked and lived Gangubai’s role, I often saw director Sanjay Leela Bhansali in your performance, especially in the laughter?
Oh yes! Like Sanjay Sir, I am very observant. It may not be deliberate. But I often end up picking up things from other people’s mannerisms and speech that I find interesting. I love the way Sanjay Sir bursts into laughter. I don’t know whether I consciously used it for Gangu. But it’s something I may have picked up unconsciously. Sanjay Sir doesn’t over-direct his actors. He doesn’t come and say, ‘Do this do that’, he gives you intent, layers, subtext, thoughts…But then he leaves the final option to the actor.

How would you compare him with the other directors you have worked with?
I don’t think I know how to compare him to any other director. He doesn’t have a process. He is spontaneous. He improvises a lot on the sets while staying within the plot and the thought processes of the character.

Lots of people including me, thought you couldn’t pull off Gangubai because you are so petite and so culturally removed from her?
At first, I was scared. I didn’t know if I could pull this off. But my fear was put to rest with the belief that Sanjay Sir had in me. He told me, ‘If you want to fly, just jump off the mountain with me and we’ll do this together’. That was the level of his confidence in me. Nevertheless, it was definitely a challenge. It was not as if I came to anyone’s mind as soon as Gangubai was mentioned. But that was the challenge of it.