Highway was Alia Bhatt's Real Professional Launch, Feels Karan Johar

Filmmaker Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt share a bond that goes beyond the movie industry. Karan, who launched Alia in Bollywood with 2012 film Student of the Year, has been a mentor and father-like figure to her.

Even though the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai maker has bankrolled a few of Alia’s subsequent films, Karan admitted that he was unable to find a viable opportunity to direct Alia in a stand-alone movie.

Amidst pan-India lockdown, Karan recently sat down for a video chat interview with columnist Rajeev Masand, which was later joined by Alia.

During the course of the chat, Karan opened up about his approach on working with Alia in the past and future. "She wasn’t used for her talent at all. In many ways, her emotional launch is Student of the Year but her real professional launch is Imtiaz Ali’s Highway. The way he nurtured her as an actor, the way he put her out there is something I didn’t do at all. I always spotted that there was something about her but I didn’t use her talent at all. I actually don’t feel I full-fledgedly ever directed Alia the way I would like to do," the Koffee with Karan host said.

Over 6 years later, Karan will be directing the Shandaar actor in his multi-starrer magnum opus, Takht.

Takht is going to be a period drama set in the Mughal era with a stellar star cast. The historical epic will feature Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, Alia Bhatt, Anil Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar.

Speaking about limited room given to Alia due to Takht’s huge star cast, Karan added, “Even Takht is an ensemble, she has a solid part in a way that she is extremely beautiful. It is one of my favourite tracks in the film but I still feel believe she and I have a film to make. A film that we can be known for. I haven’t really leveraged this whole lot of talent that we know”.

Karan is yet to confirm Alia’s role in the film. While Ranveer Singh plays Dara Shikoh in the film, Vicky Kaushal will essay the character of Aurangzeb; Anil Kapoor plays their father Shahjehan with Kareena Kapoor as Jahanara Begum.

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