Alia Bhatt has proven her acting prowess by picking diverse roles in her illustrious career in Bollywood. Her versatile performances in movies over the years are proof of it, be it Veera of Highway, Bauria of Udta Punjab or Gangubai of Gangubai Kathiawadi. Her career started with Karan Johar’s Student of the Year in 2012 and grew with commercial entertainers like Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Highway, 2 States and more. Jigra star Alia Bhatt recently recalled Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s impact on her and revealed watching the latter’s songs to ‘catch her expressions’.
In a new conversation with Allure for Favorite Things Of All Time episode, Alia Bhatt was asked to mention her favorites from the Indian cinema. After Shah Rukh Khan, Alia named Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who has left an impact on her.
The Jigra actress shared that she had initially started understanding movies with music, songs, and dance in Indian movies over the years. The actress described it as a “large part of the celebratory factor” in films.
“When it comes to learning or being inspired by somebody who’s embodied dance in the most beautiful way on screen, I can’t help but think of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. She was absolutely and is still just mesmerizing,” Alia expressed.
The 31-year-old actress credited the Ae Dil Hai Mushkil star for instilling a direction and intellect in her mind. The Alpha star recalled that she would follow the former beauty queen’s performances in her movies.
Alia elaborated that whenever she had to perform for a song from her film, she used to watch Aishwarya’s songs to “catch her expressions”. The Love and War actress would also witness the graceful moves of the Devdas star and how she carried herself throughout the tracks.
Alia further praised the 50-year-old actress by saying that her performances are quite “perfect and precise” and added that she is beautiful to look at.
Earlier, in March this year, Alia Bhatt attended a Forbes event wherein she was asked about her experience of working in Hollywood after her debut with Gal Gadot’s Heart of Stone. Alia showered love on Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra who has worked abroad by saying that they are a “huge source of inspiration” for her.
The Heart of Stone actress expressed that she deeply admires Aishwarya, Deepika, and Priyanka. Alia also praised these actresses for paving the way for her in Hollywood. In other words, they normalized choosing to work in the Hollywood industry.
For the unversed, before Alia Bhatt, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was the first choice to play Veera in Imtiaz Ali’s 2014 directorial venture, Highway. During an earlier interview with MidDay, director Imtiaz revealed that he initially imagined Veera as a mature woman, however, he changed his mind after meeting Alia. The filmmaker admitted it by saying that Aishwarya Rai would be a great choice without make-up. Imtiaz added that he didn’t approach her for the role.
On the work front, Alia Bhatt has Jigra coming up. Directed by Vasan Bala, the upcoming film also stars Vedang Raina of The Archies fame. Alia also has Yash Raj Films’ spy thriller, Alpha, co-starring Sharvari. Apart from these movies, the actress will also be seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War which also stars Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal as leads. The film will go on floors next month and is scheduled to be released on March 20, 2026.
