‘You are corrupting my film’ said ‘Udta Punjab’ director when Shahid Kapoor recommended Alia Bhatt

New Delhi: ‘Udta Punjab’ has been a hot topic of discussion these days. The movie has bagged a lot of attention. All thanks to its legal tussle with the Censor Board.

On the other hand, ‘Udta Punjab’ flaunts an interesting star cast as well - Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapood Khan, Diljit Dosanjh and Alia Bhatt.

While Shahid’s role as Tommy Singh is catching a lot of eyeballs, the actor also had a vital role in the selection of the cast.

It was the ‘Haider’ actor who had recommended Kareena and Alia.

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But as per the recent buzz director Abhishek Choubey was reportedly not sure of casting Alia Bhatt in ‘Udta Punjab’ and felt it would spoil the entire movie.

Shahid Kapoor, while talking to an entertainment portal, revealed how he convinced Abhishek to rope in Alia for ‘Udta Punjab’.

“It wasn't like I convinced her. You can't convince an actor. I will tell you what happened. Abhishek came to me with the script and I immediately said a yes. We kept having these creative meetings and used to discuss lot of things. After 4 months, we thought yaar yeh picture hum banayenge ki nahi banayenge. There was nobody else cast. He had taken the movie to lot of people and nobody said yes for various reasons. It takes a lot courage do these movies. There were many who said 'Mujhe western kapde pehenne hai','Mujhe gareeb nahi play karna' etc. So even I started thinking we can rope in new comers. But I thought, this film is such that every role is important and every character has its own journey. If there is one star and three newcomers, you will end up focussing on that one star, and that is not the movie. That was the time when Shaandaar, I felt there is something in Alia, which tells that she has a desire to be an actor. I shared the script with her as a friend and I didn't tell her my intention. Before that I called up Abhishek, and asked if I can talk to Alia. It was already 9 months and nobody was cast. Abhishek initially reacted saying 'You are corrupting my film, how will Alia play.. Yaar tu Shahid kya bol raha hai?' I convinced him saying she is a good actor and also when I did Kaminey, no one thought I could do it. He agreed and said you can give her the script. I gave her the script saying 'Alia I have got this script and I am curious to know what you think of it. Also there is this role. Tell me how do you find it?' That is how I gave her the script,” said Shahid.

He further added, “After 2-3 days, she didn't call up. I assumed, she is busy. Apni script nahi padti hai toh meri kahan se padhegi. After few days, I got a call from Alia at night say around 10.30ish. She says 'Hello (as if in tears)'. I asked her if everything was ok. She replied saying 'I just finished reading this script'. So I was like 'Did you like it or no'. She started crying and said 'I am really affected by this script yeah. I am moved by the film'. So I understood that she really liked the script. Then I asked her, 'What do you think of that role?' She replied saying 'Great'. I asked her if she wants to do it and then there was 2 minutes of silence. The she says 'Will they want me to do it because it is so different from my personality'. I was like 'If they approach you, then will you do it?' To this Alia replied with a yes. I hung up on her and then told Abhishek. They decided to meet the next day. Then Abhishek called me and said that he had a great meeting with her and she was on board.”

Only time will reveal if Alia Bhatt is able to live up to Shahid Kapoor’s expectations.

‘Udta Punjab’ is slated to release on Juen 17.