Alia Bhatt receives a roaring welcome in Pune, says ‘Being in Pune feels like coming home’

The anticipation was real as hundreds of fans gathered in Pune to catch a glimpse of Alia Bhatt, who visited the city to promote her upcoming action YRF Spy-universe thriller Alpha on Monday.

From thunderous cheers to chants of her name, the actor received an enthusiastic welcome. Having already visited multiple locations across the city as part of the promotional tour, Alia said she was delighted to be back in Pune, even if only for a brief visit. “I've done a very quick and small Pune darshan. I'm sure there's way more to do, but we tried to do as much as we could in one day. I think Pune is a happy place. I absolutely love the food and the people here.” Speaking about Alpha, which also stars Sharvari, Bobby Deol and Anil Kapoor, and features

Hrithik Roshan

in a cameo role, Alia reflected on the long journey behind the film and how much it has meant to her and Sharvari. She said, “I'm really missing Sharvari today. She is shooting in London. She was with me until yesterday. Whenever we sit together like this and discuss the film, we're constantly still coming to terms with the fact that this journey started many years ago.

We shot for the film over a long period and have been waiting for it to finally come out into the open for everyone.

We're just very grateful that we got this opportunity.” The actor revealed that Alpha pushed both its lead actors beyond their comfort zones through extensive action training. She continued, “We got a chance to do something new. We trained a lot for all the action sequences, so we learnt a lot — about ourselves, about action and about new skills.

I feel when we walked out of the Alpha set, we both walked out as very different people. It was a lot of fun.”

She added that audiences can expect a theatrical entertainer designed purely for enjoyment. “Whatever you saw in the trailer, Alpha has to feel like a celebration, like a party at the theatre. Come with your friends and family, forget your worries and just have fun. We worked very hard while making the film, but we also had a lot of fun.

We want that same experience to translate onto the big screen.” Asked about the film's title and whether "alpha" is associated with a particular gender, Alia dismissed the notion. “Everyone can be an alpha. Alpha is a celebration of attitude. Everybody has a different type of alpha in their personality. It's not associated with one person or one gender. Everyone's an alpha.” Praising her co-star Bobby Deol, Alia described him as someone whose quiet brilliance often surprises even himself.

“I had the best time working with Bobby sir. He comes across as this big giant, but he's actually so gentle, quite opposite to his stature. He brings so much to the table and so much to the camera. He himself doesn't know what magic he does.”

She recalled how director

Shiv Rawail

would often applaud Bobby after a take, only for the actor to wonder what he had done differently. “Our director would say, 'Bobby sir, outstanding, 10 on 10, no notes.'

And he'd ask, 'What did I do?' He'd get nervous because he didn't know how to repeat it. That's one of the best things about him. He doesn't know how wonderful he is or how beautifully his eyes translate onto the camera.” The duo also shared several action scenes together, with Bobby often worrying about accidentally hurting her during intense sequences. “We had quite a lot of action to do together. I know he was scared at many moments because he'd say, 'I don't want to accidentally hurt you in any way.'

But everything went really well. You'll see what all we did together in the film.”

Alia was equally full of admiration for Anil Kapoor, calling his energy unmatched. “Sharvari and I always discuss that Anil sir has more energy than anyone else. You could gather the whole room and he'd still have more energy than everyone. We were shooting in Kashmir and it started raining heavily, so shooting stopped. We all sat together playing Antakshari.

Anil sir went and sat alone in one corner. We kept asking him why he wasn't joining us, and he kept saying, 'Conserve, conserve, conserve for the camera.

' We didn't understand it then, but when the shot finally happened at the end of the day, he had the maximum energy while all of us were exhausted from constant playing. Honestly, he's a stalwart. There's so much to learn from him. His energy is very difficult to match up to.” Before concluding the interaction, Alia thanked the Pune audience for their warm reception and invited everyone to experience Alpha on the big screen. “Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope you liked the trailer, and I hope you like the film. I'll see you at the theatre. Thank you so much for all your love and support.”