Veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt is known for making tremendous films in the 90s. While his string of successes included realistic films like Sadak, Sir, he decided to direct Duplicate, a comedy-masala film for his daughter Alia Bhatt.
In an earlier interview with Lehren Retro on the sets of Duplicate, Mahesh Bhatt revealed his reason for switching styles. He said, “This is a film I’m looking forward to showing my children,” suggesting that his previous films may have been too violent or dark for children. The director explained that he was hoping to impress Alia, who was just four years old at the time. “Children are generally not influenced by their parents. There is a possibility that I may impress my four-year-old daughter Aaliya with the duplicate.
The film Duplicate, released in 1998, starred Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Sonali Bendre in lead roles, while also starring Gulshan Grover, Mohnish Bahl, Farida Jalal, Sharat Saxena and Tiku Talsania in lead roles. It was produced by Karan Johar along with his father Yash Johar. Farah Khan, who started her career as a choreographer, was also a part of the comedy action-thriller.
Based on the theme of mistaken identity, the story depicts a chef being framed as a gangster. Shahrukh also played the role of a villain in the film directed by Mahesh Bhatt.
A few years later, Alia worked as a child artiste in a Mahesh Bhatt film. The film Sangharsh was released in 1999 in which he played the childhood character of Preity Zinta. She made her big Bollywood debut in 2012 with Karan Johar’s film Student of the Year.
Alia Bhatt is the daughter of veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan. He also has an elder sister Shaheen Bhatt.
On the professional front, Alia has many exciting projects including Love & War and Alpha. Love and War is an epic saga that will reunite him on screen with Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal. It is set to release next year on March 20, 2026.
Meanwhile, Alpha is the first female-led spy film of the YRF spy-universe, led by Alia and Sharvari.
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