Alia Bhatt: The evolution of an actor from Student of The Year to Udta Punjab
From the “dumb star kid” who became the face of memes for not knowing the country’s president to the mature actor who lived the characters of Veera (Highway) and Mary (Udta Punjab), the young actor has come a long way. Will Gauri Shinde’s Dear Zindagi take her forward in this journey?
She entered the industry in what can easily be described as the dream Bollywood debut - the lead in a Karan Johar film. Overnight, Student Of The Year (2012) made Alia Bhatt one of the industry’s most-recognised faces.
Read: SRK just revealed a big Dear Zindagi spoiler
However, the film did not get her any critical acclaim - she was appreciated for her looks and cute manners. Soon after the film, Alia appeared on Johar’s TV show, Koffee with Karan, and with one answer gone wrong, she was labelled as the symbol of “ignorance” in Bollywood.
For the next one year, there were mean memes, jokes and trolling Alia online even as she kept coming up with videos like Genius of the Year (in collaboration with AIB) . The efforts, however, made little difference.
When Imtiaz Ali teamed up with Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda, he brought a different actor to the screen. Her portrayal of Veera in Highway (2014) - a young girl trapped in tradition’s hypocritical ways -- was widely appreciated. She surprised fans and critics alike with the maturity with which she handled the role.
Read: This new song from Dear Zindagi is all about Alia on dull dates
Alia, soon returned to being pretty and cute onscreen with 2 States (2014, based on Chetan Bhagat’s book by the same name) and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya (a new-age take of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, 2014). None of these films showcased the actor’s talents but she had certainly improved her expressions from her debut.
Next milestone in Alia’s career came from Anurag Kashyap’s camp - Udta Punjab (2016), directed by Abhishek Chaubey and produced by Phantom Films. Alia Bhatt was lauded by one and all for the authenticity of her portrayal of a rustic girl from Bihar -- Mary Jane aka Bauria-- stuck in the trail of drug sale in Punjab.
With Gauri Shinde’s Dear Zindagi hailing Alia as the main protagonist, Alia is all set for yet another grand release onscreen. Given Gauri’s history (English Vinglish that rediscovered the charming Sridevi in 2012), all eyes are on Alia and the movie. Whether it will really be the third milestone in her career remains to be seen.
Watch: SRK and Alia infuse life into the first song from Dear Zindagi
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