Imtiaz Ali reveals Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was first choice for Highway rather than Alia Bhatt

Imtiaz Ali’s Highway, which was released in the year 2014, remains one of the most appreciated Hindi film and was instrumental in unearthing the acting prowess of Alia Bhatt who was launched by Karan Johar in Student of the Year. While Highway was a huge film which gave Alia the much-needed break that she as an actress needed, she had not been the first choice for the film. In one of the talk sessions, the director revealed that he had plans of approaching Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for the protagonist character, Veera.

The character was initially planned to be played by a older actress but Imtiaz changed his mind after meeting Alia at the screening of Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana. In an interview with Mid-Day, Imtiaz said, “Her emotional quotient was very high, and I was drawn to talk to her.” He continued, “I always wanted to cast a slightly elder actress, like a woman of at least 30. I didn’t want to cast a more mature woman who’s had experiences of the type that she was going to talk about in the film. Aishwarya Rai without any makeup would be a great choice.”

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Highway was the actress’ second film. The incidents detailed in it include abducting of a rich girl who is a solemnized bride to be by a truck driver. Rather than becoming afraid of him, she falls in love with him and feels a liberty she had never known in her life. The kidnapping also assists her come face to face with the experience of childhood sexual abuse that she had gone through.