Top Indian Actress Alia Bhatt is having one of the best years of her life, starring in three of the biggest hits of the year, ‘RRR’, ‘Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva’ and ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’. Its first production, Netflix’s “Darlings,” was a smash hit for the service. And the star also recently became a mother. Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Gangopi Kathiawadi” is now in the midst of campaigns for the Oscars and BAFTAs. In her first major interview since becoming a mother, Bhatt broke down her ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ journey. Based on the book ‘Mafia Queens of Mumbai’ by S. Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges, this women’s empowerment story tells the true story of a young woman, Ganga, who runs away from her small town of Kathiawad to pursue her dreams of becoming a movie star, but is betrayed and sold to a brothel in the district. The infamous red light in Bombay, Kamatipura. She gradually turns into jangbai, the mothers of the region. She becomes the voice of the repressed and makes it her mission to try to legitimize a tainted profession that dates back to ancient times.
diverse: You heard him quietly when he discussed Gangbai’s role with you, said Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and he walked away without a word and came back the next day ready to give in to see him. What happened during that time that you were away and what made you agree to the role, aside from the obvious fun of working with him?
Alia Bhattkisa: It’s been my dream since I was a little girl. I first met SLB when I was nine years old, when I auditioned for a movie called Black. From that audition came the prospect of doing another movie with him as a really young girl, and we did musical sessions, etc. But in the end, that movie was never made. And so that thirst began, that desire to work with him as a director, as a mentor at that age. And I always waited for that moment, for him to come to me with the film he felt I would be able to make, and do justice to his vision.
For ‘Gangubai’, the story really scared me at first – the scale of the character and what I did and what I’m going to do next, I was so scared, I couldn’t believe I’d really be able to draw from it. I thought I was too young. But he believed it and after that I had no business not believing him.
It was just a doubt I had with myself because of how different that part was to me. I always knew that I would work with my master [Bhansali] – There was no way in hell I could have said, “No, I can’t do this.” It was just a matter of convincing myself I could do it. And then they were all taken away by the sheer desire of like, “Listen, this is the biggest opportunity I’ve waited for so long.” So even if you doubt ourselves, that’s a good thing. Doubt is the key to knowledge, as they say. Doubt makes you push, doubt makes you work hard, doubt makes you not take opportunity for granted. And that’s exactly what happened. I just rushed to say, “Sir whatever you want me to do, and whatever you expect of me, I’ll try to give you an extra 1,000 percent of it, and I’ve quite given myself up for that ride.” And frankly, the biggest takeaway from the experience with all the love we had for the company and all the appreciation, was the journey that Sir and I worked on during those two years and that relationship and that equation that we shared.
Bhansali also said about you that you come from upper class high society background but you became Gangubai very soon. Can you please describe the process of becoming Gangbai?
Kamathipura group was the first time I walked the streets of that area. There wasn’t much in my imagination, to be very honest, because, as Sir said, I came from a very sheltered background. I didn’t even go and do the kind of research that you can do physically in these areas because that opportunity never materialized, it never happened. So my knowledge was all that of my master, and my understanding was all that Sir understood. So the process of discovering Gangpai happened through conversation through the lens of walking and a lot of conversation. He wasn’t just talking about the scene – he was just talking about his experiences.
I watched two documentaries that he asked me to watch – he said, “Watch this movie at this moment, watch this movie for this section.” He has continued to feed me with inspiration and information. And I’m pretty much like a sponge — if I’ve been out with someone for a full day by the end of the day, I’m just as talkative as that person. So I like to soak everything in it. And that became our process very naturally.
I don’t like to divide the process or talk about the process because I feel that art is not the same as science. It doesn’t have a way for you, you can have a way for your discipline and the way you approach your work, but at the end of the day, there is no process imbibing personality, acting, speaking or feeling. My conversations with the master, experiencing the world through his eyes, became my process.
What background preparation/research did you do about the period and character before embarking on the role? With some actors, the positive aspects of the character stay with them long after the role is over. Has it retained any of the positive traits of the Gangubai?
It was the preparation and the research that we had again, it was all through conversation, I read the book, we met the author talked to him about some of the characteristics that were unique to Gangbai, the way she would talk to people, the mind games she would play, what a play she wanted to be like Actress, she was exuding that aura. The positive things I learned from her, which is actually very similar to my character, is that she never let that childish innocence go, even though she was fighting this big bad world, and being part of that big bad world, so to speak. Her innocence and vulnerability were intact, despite having to play such a very powerful role for these women. It’s something I feel sometimes gave me a lot of courage to speak in a big room. I am constantly told how young I am and it has always been since I started working. A lot of times, I would get a little nervous to speak my mind or say anything, because I was so young, you just feel like you don’t have a place in the room. That’s something it’s given me – a lot of confidence to speak up and go with my instincts and say what I need to say. That’s something I felt strongly about from this character.
In your career thus far, you’ve played a tremendous array of characters. Going beyond a great script/director/slogan/co-stars, what do you look for when you say yes to a role?
Honestly, when I say yes to a role, I’m just looking for an experience in which I can completely lose myself. And I’ll be very honest, it doesn’t happen all the time. Gangbai, is that really special, once in a blue moon experience. And I still say this to Sir that I feel he has completely screwed me up, and it would be very difficult for me to make this experience. But I don’t think about it seriously. I just want to lose myself in a certain world, not just a character that I love, I love going into worlds, every character, every aspect of this movie. And that experience must have just been a sweet little bubble world, which I just got lost in.
Has motherhood changed your view of the world in general and acting roles in particular?
Motherhood has changed me so much in my period — I mean, it’s, as I’m doing this interview, barely a month has passed, just over three weeks, but I don’t know how it’s going to change the way I choose roles yet because I haven’t thought about it. But it changed the way I look at everything. I think my heart has become a little more open than it used to be, and I don’t know what the change will be. But we’ll see. I’m excited to see how this trip will turn out.
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