Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali recently shared an interesting anecdote about making his film highway. Ali revealed that it was an experienced filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt who convinced his daughter, actor Alia Bhatt to play a role in the film. He also discussed his casting processes for his film Jab We Met Met.

In a conversation for podcast Game changerAli mentioned that Mahesh Bhatt played an important role in Alia’s decision to join the project. Despite being a newcomer at that time, Alia was persuaded by her father to accept a challenging role. He also referred to the desire to cast a more mature actor before meeting Alia.

He said, “There is no arithmetic in our work; this is an easy process. I felt that I would cast a 30 -year -old, mature actor for highways, who saw the world and rebel. But when I met Alia, I thought, ‘This is the girl.’ Alia was only 18 years old at that time, but she needed emotional depth.

Ali continued to explain, “I used to go to his house, and Bhatt Saheb was trying to convince him to do so. He was a little scared because he was in every scene. He suspected if he would be able to do so because it was not an easy film.”

When we met, Ali shared Kareena, her first choice. He said, “When I am writing, there is a figure in my mind. When you meet people, they match the spirit of character. I always meet Karena for Jab. Initially, it was not happening, but then she came to do the film. She was my first choice to play the gate.”

The highway, which was released in 2014, received significant praise and marked a significant turn in Alia’s career.

On the work front for Alia, she was last seen in Vedang Raina’s co-act in Vasan Bala’s Jigra.