Alia Bhatt opened up on how she braved pain to shoot a garba sequence for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi.
Alia Bhatt blew everyone’s mind with her award-winning performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 2022 film Gangubai Kathiawadi in which she essayed the role of a brothel madam. Recently, in an interview with a leading magazine, the actress shared how she braved immense pain to film a garba sequence on the last day of shoot.
Alia was asked if stepping out of her comfort has impacted her personal life. In response, the actress explained that doing that is always good to test various aspects of one’s personal growth and journey, such as willpower to sometimes go on, when things get uncomfortable.
Citing example of an incident from the sets of Gangubai Kathiawadi, the Bollywood star told Femina magazine, “I remember when I was shooting for Gangubai Kathiawadi, it was the last day and I had been shooting this garba sequence over two days. The first day we did this one shot so many times that I went home with a shooting pain down my leg for the longest time because I have a bit of a sciatica issue. So, the whole night – it was a night shoot – I couldn’t sleep because of the pain.”
She continued, “I went onto the set the next day and I thought I wouldn’t be able to dance. Of course, Sanjay Sir (Leela Bhansali, the director), being Sanjay Sir, gave me the option of cancelling the shoot if I was unable to perform, but I knew that it was the last day of that song and I didn’t want the shoot to go to waste. All the dancers were there, everybody was there, and it was just too much of a cost. So I said, you know, just give me some time. Let me try and do some physio and I’ll shoot. And I did. I shot with the pain. And, had I not that day stepped out of feeling uncomfortable – or not been accepting of feeling uncomfortable – maybe I wouldn’t have been able to prove to myself that there is such a thing as mind over matter.”
Gangubai Kathiawadi which hit the big screens last year, revolves around a young woman, who after being duped and sold to a brothel, takes control of the world she was once a pawn in, and utilises her underworld connections to rule it. The film also starred Vijay Raaz and Shantanu Maheshwari in pivotal roles.
Alia is currently awaiting the release of her upcoming film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani alongside Ranveer Singh.