When Alia Bhatt shared the news of her pregnancy with Gal Gadot, the actor says the Heart of Stone producer-star reacted with excitement and assured her "that she's got my back".
Alia Bhatt, who is making her Hollywood with the film, said Gal Gadot was "warm, excited and literally started cheering". "I remember when I had to call Gal and let her know that I was pregnant. I'm supposed to start shooting and I have all these action sequences but I wanted her to know because she's the producer on the film and also I would have some restrictions maybe.
"And she was so warm, excited and started cheering, talking about how it's great luck for the movie and that she's got my back. I think very rarely you meet somebody and in the first two minutes feel very well taken care of, extreme warmth and just safety," the actor told PTI in a virtual roundtable.
The year 2022 was momentous for the Bollywood star who got married to actor Ranbir Kapoor, made her production debut with "Darlings" and welcomed daughter Raha.
Heart of Stone, a Netflix action film that she joined in March 2022, marks Bhatt's Hollywood debut. She plays hacker Keya Dhawan in the movie.
The Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani star said she felt taken care of by Gadot right after their first meeting. "When you are working with someone, of course, it's the working relationship that you take away. You just want to meet and interact with people who touch you and make you feel comfortable. And, that's exactly what I felt," Bhatt, 30, added.
Heart of Stone also features Jamie Dornan, Sophie Okonedo and Matthias Schweighofer and Bhatt said throughout the production, all the actors "were very serious, but we never took anything too seriously".
"There was a lot of hard work but there was a lot of just living the dream, sort of committing to the moment and just enjoying this film that we eagerly want the audience to enjoy. We had a great time making it. It was difficult and we had a lot of challenges but thank god, we had each other," she said.
Directed by Tom Harper, "Heart of Stone" follows Gadot's Rachel Stone, an intelligence operative working for a shadowy global peacekeeping agency called Charter.
Things are set in motion when the organisation's cutting-edge weapon, a technological core called the Heart, is stolen by Bhatt's character, a hacker driven by her pursuit for justice. Stone then embarks on a globetrotting adventure to prevent the weapon from falling into the wrong hands and saving the day.
There were physical challenges like extreme weather conditions but they are all now a fun memory, the actor said.
"As an actor, when the camera's rolling, even if it's hot or it's too cold, or you're in pain or whatever, everything just sort of disappears for that one particular moment. I'm not someone who says, 'Oh, it was really rough.' "We remember situations like sand going into our eyes, dealing with overwhelming heat and cold. But we remembered those things in a fun and spirited sort of (way)," she added.
The real challenge, Bhatt said, is in dealing with the nerves and anticipation as the film nears its release on Netflix on August 11.
"What's challenging actually is the time now... waiting for the audience to respond because at the end of the day, you make the film for the audience and your one job is to entertain them," Alia added.
The actor, who is currently enjoying the success of her latest Bollywood release in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, said as an artist she is constantly looking for variety in her work.
"I'm someone who gets bored easily... The more variety and the bigger the box to step out of, the more entertaining it is for me. This is my first action movie. I'd like to do maybe my first out and out comedy movie where I'm just making people laugh because I like to laugh myself." Heart of Stone has a screenplay by Greg Rucka and Allison Schroeder. The movie is produced by Gadot, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Jaron Varsano, Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lynn.
