Young actress Alia Bhatt to play a ‘pattaka’ character in his upcoming movie Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya. “Imagine your love story becoming your reality, that convinced me to sign up for the film,” says Alia who was in the city with co-stars Varun Dhawan and Siddharth Shukla.
The film, slated for release on July 11, is a love story set in Delhi and Ambala and because neither Alia nor Varun have ever played a Punjabi character before, they were both fairly anxious, wondering whether they were being too Punjabi or not Punjabi enough. “Shashank (the director) told us to be normal though and not worry about it too much and that’s what saved us from being caricatures one could poke fun at” says Varun who would also speak Punjabi to his cousins who spoke the language in preparation for his character.
On being asked what his character in the film is like, the young actor tells us that he is a very normal, run-ofthe-mill person. “It is the stories of these normal, levelheaded people around us that intrigue me the most,” says Varun.
For Alia, the challenge was to be energetic without being overbearing, something she did not find particularly easy. “My character in the film is supposed to be lovable, she’s a pattaka (firecracker) like I am in real life, not just my reel life, and I had to find the balance between being really full of energy and not becoming annoying at the same time,” laughs Alia. All of three films old, she says while she has grown as an actress, what she’s learnt about the technical aspect of filmmaking fascinates her. She also credits her father, director Mahesh Bhatt, for being her worst and best critic. “After watching Student of the Year, he said I’m a good dancer and after 2 States, he just said he preferred Arjun’s (Kapoor) acting to mine,” laughs Alia.
The film also stars TV actor Siddharth Shukla who says the transition from TV to big screen wasn’t all that hard. “I was ready for the switch. The mediums might be different but it’s still acting,” he says. The camaraderie between the three actors was heartwarming and out for all to see as they joked and laughed with each other throughout, exactly what we’ve been promised in their upcoming movie. Also look out for Alia Bhatt’s version of the hit song ‘Samjhavan’ from the same film.