Alia Bhatt had been weighing her for a few years. A popular star of Hindi films for over a decade with nearly , she鈥檇 been interested in making an English-language film, but nothing had been working out. Then Bhatt got word of a new action franchise led and produced by and within a week of reading the script, the deal had closed. It was, she concluded, fate.
鈥淵our first film chooses you,鈥� Bhatt said in an interview with The Associated Press in June. 鈥淭echnically, this is my first English-language movie. It chose me and I鈥檓 so happy it did.鈥�
a globe-trotting spy thriller co-starring Gadot and Jamie Dornan, debuts globally Friday on Netflix. Bhatt鈥檚 role as a tech prodigy named Keya is one that鈥檚 hard to describe without spoiling the twisty plot, but it鈥檚 an important one. In India, the actor had grown accustomed to being a lead, but here she was happy to delve into a more supporting part 鈥� as long as it had substance to it.
In reading the script, she wanted to make sure that her character wasn鈥檛 just there to fill a 鈥淪outh Asian鈥� slot, and that she was involved in 鈥� and impacting 鈥� the storyline.
鈥淭he way I judge it is if you take the character out of the story and you still have a film, then that character鈥檚 not important,鈥� Bhatt said.
But most of all, she was excited to be second to a woman who was also producing. called Bhatt a 鈥渇ormidable talent鈥� and said that it was the dynamic between Keya and Gadot鈥檚 character, Rachel Stone, that most excited him about the film.
鈥淭he two bounce off each other brilliantly and you get real electricity,鈥� Harper said. 鈥淪ome of my favorite parts of the movie are when they riff off each other and the banter that they have.鈥�
Bhatt was struck by how similar Hollywood sets are to than the ones she鈥檚 spent a decade on in India 鈥� with the main difference being the hours. The days were shorter on 鈥淗eart of Stone,鈥� but so were the breaks. In India, she said, there would be an hour for lunch, 30 minutes for snacks and a later finish time.
She was also pregnant during the shoot and was tickled to see some the things she 鈥渄id鈥� in the finished film (with the help of stunt doubles and digital effects).
鈥淚鈥檓 like, 鈥榃ow, I did that?鈥欌�� she laughed. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think so, but it looks like I did.鈥�
The release of 鈥淗eart of Stone鈥� caps off what has been a banner year for the 30-year-old, in which she also welcomed her first child, attended her and was named the first Indian house ambassador for the She had a small part in the which became and also has been making a name for herself as a producer.
The first film she produced, 鈥淒arlings,鈥� was a Netflix production as well, and the experience has been 鈥渃hallenging and scary and fruitful all at the same time.鈥�
Bhatt hails from a Bollywood family. Her father, Mahesh Bhatt, is a well-known filmmaker, and her mother, Soni Razdan, is a former actress. She made her debut in teen drama 鈥淪tudent of the Year鈥� in 2012, garnered accolades for playing a kidnapping victim in the drama 鈥淗ighway,鈥� from 2014, and last year .
鈥淢y parents from the very beginning have been very careful with the words of encouragement that they give me. 鈥� It helps when you grow up in a family that鈥檚 seen the highs and the lows and seen everything in between,鈥� she said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, my dad always says, you most definitely going cannot be the first member of your own fan club. So, try to have a 10-foot distance from it all.鈥�
She doesn鈥檛 have a grand plan for her future in Hollywood and does not see herself moving to the U.S., like her friend
鈥淚 think what Priyanka did was extremely brave and very different from what anyone has ever done. She鈥檚 such an inspiration to every young girl from India that has that big dream to be a global icon and a global star,鈥� Bhatt said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I could do that. I want to continue to do movies in India. And I want to be able to get these one-off, amazing international opportunities.鈥�
鈥淚 still don鈥檛 know what I鈥檓 doing,鈥� she added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just this one film and we鈥檒l see how it goes from here.鈥�
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
