When Mahesh Bhatt compared Alia Bhatt to Smita Patil: They could act in commercial and parallel films

Alia Bhatt was recently honoured with the Smita Patil Memorial Award for Best Actress. She shared her achievement on Instagram. In 2016, director Mahesh Bhatt explained why his daughter Alia resembles the legendary Smita Patil.

In 2016, Mahesh went to the Smita Patil festival. In an interview, he used Alia as an example of someone who had recently begun working in the field. The director claimed that Alia, like many other performers, has the ability to match Smita Patil, who achieved success in both mainstream and avant-garde films from an early age.

The filmmaker told PTI, “There is a new dawn and new energy. There is a new beginning, I must say. I see a lot more actors, including a few regional and parallel cinema actresses and also my daughter Alia Bhatt walking the way this great actor Smita did way back in time. She could act both in commercial and parallel films and not become clichéd.”

Elaborating further, he stated, “Why shouldn't I mention my daughter Alia? She has done Highway and also some lighter roles at a very young age. She can do both commercial and experimental films as she has grown up seeing Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi's movies by my production house.”

Mahesh, however, asserted that he didn't want his remark to be confined to Alia. He acknowledged that some other actresses were also succeeding in regional filmmaking.

On the work front, Alia was most recently seen in the Ayan Mukerji-directed movie Brahmastra. She played the female lead while Ranbir Kapoor played the male lead. The film also starred Amitabh Bachchan, Mouni Roy and Nagarjuna in pivotal roles.

Alia will soon be featured in the Netflix spy thriller Heart of Stone alongside Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan. In addition, she also has Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani opposite Ranveer Singh. Alia might also appear in the Farhan Akhtar-directed film Jee Le Zaraa, with Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif.