Did you know? Pankaj Tripathi played a part in Alia Bhatt's impressive 'Udta Punjab' act

Alia Bhatt turned producer with the recently-released film Darlings, which hit Netflix earlier this month. The movie received appreciation from all across with the movie also going on to make it to the trending lists.

While the actor-producer is currently basking in the praises for her latest film, one of her previous works that also received acclaim was the 2016 film Udta Punjab. The film also featured Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Diljit Dosanjh, among others. 

Alia reveals that Pankaj Tripathi prepared her for Udta Punjab 

Alia had played the role of a migrant Bihari girl and ex-hockey player working in Punjab. In an interview with Mid-Day, Alia said Pankaj Tripathi, who hails from Bihar, played a major role in her preparation for Udta Punjab. The actor said the latter, along with director Abhishek Chaubey, would work with her on the dialogues on a daily basis. Though the character did not have too many dialogues, she was required to speak the Jaat dialect.

Alia revealed that Pankaj trained her on how the natives sit and speak. She further shared that the Mirzapur star urged her to participate in acting workshops and helped her understand how to loosen the body and to portray "dead eyes and open mouth" expression. She said, "Udta Punjab was the first film she kind of went method on".

The 29-year-old also revealed that she was not offered the role, but had to approach the director to do the film. She recalled that time and said that she came across the script via Shahid when they were working together on Shaandaar. She said:

"I read the script and I was like 'Wow, what a part'. I was like, 'listen I want to do this part'. He was like, 'Okay, I also think it will be quite cool and you should meet Chaubey'. So then I met Chaubey and I had to convince him that I will do it".

Alia said that the director was not sure even after they did a look test. However, she succeeded in convincing him by promising that she will work hard. She eventually won numerous awards for her role like the IIFA award for Best Actress.