From the time, I started observing Alia Bhatt, her films have been my favorite. The actress had been giving some of the incredible performances consistently. I couldn’t even come out of her character from Gangubai Kathiawadi yet she surprised me again with Darlings. The trailer of the film co-starring Shefali Shah and Vijay Varma made me stick to my mind the entire time. It seems it was quite a journey for the actors to be part of Darling.
Watch the trailer here:
In an exclusive interaction with us, Alia speaks about her idea of making changes in script and the process of prepping for any character.
Read excerpts from the conversation here:
On doing minor changes in the script…
No, that’s something that I need to think of. The director knows where the tone is going and whether it is in the right space and that’s about it. I give feedback on screenplay, story points, like do you feel during this moment, we can have this or just suggestions. That is something that I have always done. I have learnt it more on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s set during Gangubai Kathiawadi about giving feedback on every little thing. Sometimes also after living the character a little bit, new things come to you. We as actors used the pandemic in finetuning the things that are needed in the script or character. That free time was used for prepping for the character.
On not mixing any characters…
Thankfully I had wrapped up Gangubai and then started working on Darlings. Last time I had shot a complete film in continuation was Raazi. From start to finish, I just shot that film in a tight schedule. Darlings also worked out in that way, so I just lived with that character. These two character Gangu and Badru are different. On the other hand Brahmastra, I have been shooting for a long time. I can even play that character in my sleep. Now, it has become a part of my personality. For me the character starts coming to life when I am in costume on set in front of the camera. My prep happens in my mind and acting happens in front of the camera.
On when the output is different…
As actors we are very hopeful animals. You get a sense of it sometimes when it is getting off. If you are an instinctive person. But you would never want to say it and don’t want to put that energy out there. You also know when things are going well, but you don’t want to jinx it and constantly fingers are crossed. You are just trying to do your best. When I say after doing I film that I am very proud of this film, then its my instinct. You never know until a film releases. You have to continuously cross the steps. It is a risk at every step. If things workout well every time for you then there no challenge in life.
On Kesariya Tera song memes…
I think its lovely, the two words are beautiful. I think there was so much anticipation with the song. It is one song got so much attention as our trailer that it sparked a meme fest. It has got straight to number one. We dethroned Pasoori which was at the top position for 85 days, which is my favorite song. Good or bad- any kind of attention that a creative unit gets makes people aware that the film is about to release. Amitabh Bhattacharya, Pritam Da are creative geniuses. It is just two words and at the end of the day I enjoy the memes. It adds more conversation to your film.
You can watch the entire conversation here:
Coming back to Darlings, I can’t wait to watch the film. It has created a curiosity inside me with its comic and mysterious story. I think we all are in for a joyride.