Filmmaker

Mahesh Bhatt

discussed his daughter Alia’s growth as an actor in the Hindi film industry and highlighted the one performance that broke his heart. Since making her movie debut in Karan Johar’s ‘

Student of the Year

’ more than ten years ago, Alia has established herself as one of the most talented actors of her generation.
During a conversation with India Today, when asked about the favourite performance of Alia, Mahesh Bhatt replied that he was most touched by her performances in the movies ‘

Highway

’ and ‘Udta Punjab’.

He also referred to Alia’s portrayal in ‘Student of the Year’ as a ‘

mannequin

’. He said, “I must say that I was devastated by

Udta Punjab

. I didn’t understand when did this girl, this Juhu girl exposed to our home, where we live like a normal family… How did this Juhu girl get the accent right of an Adivasi from Chhattisgarh. It was amazing. I was astounded by that.”
The veteran filmmaker further added, “Her raw power, and her ability to get into such a vulnerable space, and bare her heart. Highway and Udta Punjab… It was a departure from that girl who was just a mannequin in Student of the Year. You see the evolution in your child also.” Mahesh Bhatt said that when Alia gave birth to Raha in 2022, he was even more moved.
Alia and her father collaborated on a single movie, the critically received pandemic-era film ‘

Sadak 2

’. Her career, which has been distinguished by multiple hits and critically lauded performances, is nevertheless severely marred by it. Mahesh Bhatt has announced that he will not be directing any more movies, hence ‘Sadak 2’ will remain his last picture. “I am outdated, a has-been,” the filmmaker shared in a recent interview with the Indian Express.
Directed by Mahesh Bhatt, ‘Sadak 2’ was a sequel to the 1991 film ‘Sadak’. It starred Sanjay Dutt (reprising his role from the original),

Alia Bhatt

and Aditya Roy Kapur in the lead roles while Pooja Bhatt made a cameo appearance.