New Delhi, Sep 30: Director-producer Karan Johar, who is launching Mahesh Bhatt's daughter Alia in his upcoming film "Student Of The Year", says the newcomer wasn't the first choice for the movie.
The 19-year-old debutante plays the role of a rich brat named Shanaya Singhania in the film, which also stars newbies Varun Dhawan and Siddharth Malhotra.
"We screen tested over 400 girls from across Mumbai and other cities. This is when Niranjan Iyengar told me that Mahesh Bhatt's daughter Alia was raring to go and she could just be the right fit for the film. I did her test and was convinced that she had this X factor that could work for the film," said Johar.
