After the success of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Alia Bhatt is up for another milestone in her career. She is making her Hollywood debut as hacker Keya Dhawan with Heart Of Stone releasing on Netflix on August 11, where she will share screen space with Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan of Fifty Shades fame. Now, director Tom Harper opened up about the film and detailed on characters of Alia and Gadot. Speaking of Alia, Harper went on to call her a formidable and intelligent talent with great charisma.
Tom Harper said “We were so excited that Alia was going to join us. She's huge in the Indian film industry, but this is her first Hollywood production and full English language film. She's a formidable talent, has great intelligence, and expert attention to detail as well as that amazing film star charisma."
Detailing ‘Heart of Stone’, Tom Harper added, "When I first came onboard, two things really struck me about the project: firstly, it was an original movie in a genre where there are a lot of franchises that have been around for many years, and secondly it had a female lead. I thought that was really exciting."
Talking about Gal Gadot who is also the producer of the film, he said "Gal said to me, right from the very beginning, that she wanted this character to be a powerful woman in her own right, rather than a copy of the male action hero stereotype. Of course, she does do a lot of heroic things; she is a survivor, a maverick, and sometimes a rebel. But she is not alone. There is a deep care and compassion for people as the driving force of her actions.”
“It often feels that there's one character acting in an almost God-like way, saving the world but yet disregarding the human's around them. This is a bit different; it has a bit more of a humanistic approach. That really appealed to me."
Harper’s own vision is a bit different, and as such is different from standard spy-thriller as he pioneers a fresh narrative approach, giving audiences a different storyline with fleshed out characters that transcend conventional heroism.
Tom also delves deeper into his artistic vision, emphasizing the creation of authentic and relatable personas that forge profound connections with viewers, because at its very core ‘Heart of Stone’ apart from being a female-led spy-thriller film is also focused on the world of AI. The movie aims to explore the damage that such a powerful piece of technological force can unleash when unchecked, particularly as that technology is advancing day by day.
As such, in ‘Heart of Stone’, Tom delves into big data, technology, and the balance between human instinct and algorithms, a conversation very much present in our world today. Harper's vision here challenges conventions and celebrates the triumph of humanity amid high-stakes action.
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