‘I HAVE THESE BOUTS: GET ME TO A SET NOW’
Alia Bhatt says that she can’t be away from a film shoot for long
What’s it like being Alia Bhatt? Twenty-four; terribly busy; tremendous sense of humour (if in doubt about that, just watch her Genius of the Year video, spoofing herself); and blessed with a big reserve tank of energy.
One wonders what this little bundle of dynamite does in her downtime? We asked Alia about that, because she got an unplanned break just before she started shooting for Raazi towards the end of July. “I think when I’m tired, I just need 10 days of recovery, and then I’m fine,” says Alia. “After that, I need to get back on my feet and start working. When I was on a break, I made [good] use of that time, and wasn’t complaining too much.”
She did complain a little, though — because she isn’t used to not working on a film. Do we see a workaholic? “Yes, initially, I was complaining a bit,” says Alia, “but I get these bouts, when I’m like, ‘I want to work. Get me to a set now (laughs).’ And when I say ‘working’, I don’t mean my live events and ad shoots etc.”
The Dear Zindagi actor says that non-film commitments are also “work” for her, “but my true calling and my core job is shooting for a film and playing a character. That’s what I consider my life is all about, so that’s something that I need to do constantly.”
She did enjoy her recent break, after five years — her 2012 debut was with Student of the Year — of a packed schedule. More so, because “I also knew that once I started to shoot again, I won’t stop,” says Alia, who has been working with director Meghna Gulzar for 10 days now.
Her friends tried to get her to chill. “They’d tell me, ‘Alia, just use this time and relax. [In the near future], on a number of days, you’re not even going to have enough time to sleep.’ But, essentially, that’s what I love,” she says with a laugh.
Alia’s next films include Dragon (with Ranbir Kapoor), which she describes as a “new, interesting, fun and magical world to step in”.