‘First 20 days are best part of a film promotion’

Ever since her debut with Student of The Year (2012), Alia Bhatt has had a string of hits. In fact, from 2016 onwards, her back-to-back films such as Udta Punjab, Kapoor & Sons, Dear Zindagi and Badrinath Ki Dulhania have hit the bull’s eye at the box office. So, one might assume that Alia would have mastered the art of pre- and post-release jitters.

The actor feels she has “learnt to live with it”. She says, “Honestly, the first 20 days are the best part about promotions. You are so busy that you don’t have the time to think [about anything else]. Whatever goes through my mind happens 3-4 days before a film’s release. That’s the time when you start getting worried and nervous.”

The 24-year-old feels that even if people say “good things about you”, one hopes to not let them down. “You go through all these little things. No matter what, I have realised that you are always nervous on the first day of the shoot. It’s nervewracking and the release day will be double of that. Now, I’ve learnt to live with it,” she says.

Alia recounts a special episode vis-à-vis Shah Rukh Khan, her Dear Zindagi co-star: “When [the film] was going to release, Shah Rukh messaged me (before he left for the US to meet Aryan at that time) saying, ‘I know what it’s like when a film releases and then an actor tends to feel alone because once the film releases, the buzz has gone and suddenly, you feel blank.’ And it was lovely because unknowingly, someone understood it so beautifully. Then, I realised that it’s not just me; everyone feels the same.”

Whatever goes through my mind happens 3-4 days before a film’s release. That’s the time when you start getting worried and nervous ALIA BHATT, ACTOR

PHOTO: PRODIP GUHA/HT