Playing Gangubai gave me the confidence to speak, says Alia Bhatt

Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt said playing Gangubai Kathiawadi in her hit 2022 film gave her the confidence to speak up. She identified with her character's childlike innocence and vulnerability.

Speaking to Pinkvilla, the actress said she discovered Gangubai through her conversations with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. "She (Gangubai) was fighting this big bad world and being part of it. Her innocence and her vulnerability were intact, despite having to play this very strong role for these women."

The biographical drama is based on author Hussain Zaidi's book Mafia Queens of Mumbai. Alia said she used to be nervous about speaking up in a big room because she started working at a young age. Playing Gangubai gave her the "guts" to overcome that.

"I'm constantly told how young I am. And it's always been that way since I started working. So very often, I would just feel a little nervous to speak my mind or say anything, because I was so young. You just feel like you don't really have a place in the room. That's something that it gave me - a lot of confidence to speak and to go with my gut and to say what I need to say. That's one thing that I felt very strongly from this character," said one of the highest-paid actresses in Bollywood.

Alia recently became a mother and during her pregnancy, she made her Hollywood debut with Heart of Stone which also stars Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan.