Indian superstar actor, Alia Bhatt, is all set to make her Hollywood debut in Netflix’s Heart Of Stone. The multi award-winning talent will feature alongside Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan in the next feature by BAFTA-nominated, British film and television director, Tom Harper (Peaky Blinders, The Aeronauts, Wild Rose, War & Peace).
One of India’s biggest movie stars, with a social media following of 90 million, 60.6 million on Instagram alone, Bhatt has bagged four FilmFare awards (India’s Oscars equivalent) in her illustrious career trajectory thus far. Her most recent release, Gangubai Kathiawadi, marked her third film to world premiere at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, following the earlier Gully Boy (Dir: Zoya Akhtar, 2019) and Highway (Dir: Imtiaz Ali, 2014).
Directed by legendary filmmaker, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Gangubai Kathiawadi garnered unanimous plaudit by international audiences and critics alike. The female-centric film, helmed by Bhatt, secured the third biggest opening in the domestic territory last weekend and the biggest non-holiday opening for a Bollywood film since the start of the pandemic – an unprecedented achievement, given cinemas in key Indian states were operating at 50 per cent capacity in the first week of release. In the UK, the film secured the highest opening weekend for an Indian film (all languages) since the pandemic started, closely tailing Hollywood blockbusters at the Box Office. Championed by critics and cineastes, the film has done tremendously well considering Gangubai Kathiawadi is a feminist-oriented film that chronicles the real life story of a sex worker, essayed by Bhatt.
Her Berlinale-premiering, 2019 film Gully Boy, directed by Zoya Akhtar, has gone on to become an international hit, grossing over $25M worldwide to date. The film was India’s official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2020 Oscars. Recognising her international appeal and global fan base, the Academy inducted her into its 2020 class.
