Alia Bhatt’s transformative performance in 'Gangubai' will change the course of her career

It is amusing and a tad annoying to hear the expert opinions of those who have not see Gangubai Kathiawadi. Many feel Alia is too “upperclass” to play a sex worker from Kamathipura.

Many felt the same when Sharmila Tagore was signed to play a hardcore sex worker in Gulzar’s Mausam. Gulzar Saab was advised by his well-wishers to drop the idea of Sharmila as a streetwalker before it was too late, as Ms Tagore was seen to be too sophisticated for the part.

But the filmmaker stuck to his guns. And Sharmila Tagore won her one and only National award for best actress in Mausam.

“It wasn’t easy,” Sharmila Tagore shared with me. “To say those abusive words. I had never heard them, let alone used them. But when you have a good director and a supportive co-star the atmosphere is so relaxed that you surrender comfortably to the demands of the character.”

I have a feeling Gangubai Kathiawadi will fetch Alia her first National award for best actress. Not that she’s a stranger to outstanding performances. She was in sterling form in Imtiaz Ali’s Highway, Abhishek Choubey’s Udta Punjab and Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy.

None of these compares with what Alia has achieved in Gangubai Kathiawadi. It’s a transformative performance where we no longer sees the actress but only the character. Alia’s voice, body language and mannerisms are completely new to her. She pulls it off with the panache of a pro.

As she told me excitedly, “You know, I always felt that until one is signed for a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film one has not really arrived. Would you believe I first went to audition for him when I was 9? I had gone to audition for Black and he told my mother, ‘No (to Black), she’s meant to be a star’. I felt I had to prove him right someday. And now for us to be collaborating ….It’s a dream come true.”

Recalling her first meeting with the Devdas director Alia said, “When I walked in to his office I felt I had to be part of that world. It excites me so much to just sit with him and discuss scenes. He is so passionate about his work, it is supremely inspiring.I was ready go back to Ground Zero, unlearn everything I’ve learnt so far about acting and start from scratch with him.”

The end result is electrifying.