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So I have been meaning to make this post for some time now. Let me start off and say during her highway days I was a fan of Alia's work. But something has happened in her career graph that has been making me become bored of her work.
One thing can be overexposure, for sure. But I think this excessive choice of scripts, has also limited her to some extent. I'll explain further. Most actresses only get one film in their lifetimes like Highway or Udta Punjab BUT Alia has gotten many of these. And if you study them carefully they are not very different from each other.
She is always the bechari girl. Her main job as an actress in most of her well-appreciated roles has been to evoke sympathy. She has done that but it has become repetitive both her style and her roles.
Highway - Once again a sexually abused girl who rediscovers herself when she spends time in the real world with everyday people. We were supposed to feel bad for her and we did.
Dear Zindagi - Once again a girl who battles depression. A disease that is very common in India but is only talked about in hush hush terms. She was the neglected daughter in a household where the son was a prince. We were again supposed to feel sympathy for her and we did.
Raazi - A patriotic girl who wanted to do her father proud. But in return, she ended up having to kill the family who treated her like a princess. She was trusted, cherished and put on a pedestal. We could count the number of crying scenes she had. One after every death. We were mostly supposed to feel sympathy for her and we did.
Udta Punjab - this character had a bit more shades. She had to convince that she was drugged and treated like an animal. But again it was a bechari who we were supposed to feel bad for.
Yes, she has had some successful romcoms to her credit too. 2 states or Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania. But her character didn't require some heavy duty comedy, like Geet for example, in Jab We Met. That was a character that became iconic.
If we compare her to yesteryear actresses she is quite behind. Look at Kareena who could do an Omkara and a Poo. Look at Tabu who can get her 20-minute comic performance appreciated in Biwi No. 1 yet do a Maqbool or Astitiva. Even Vidya who could play a tigress, who was not all a bechari till the end of Dirty Picture and evoke empathy in NOKJ. Along with no major comic appreciation she has yet to explore shades of grey or the emotion of rage. For an example, Urmila in Ek Hasina Thi.
That being said Alia is a natural actress. Perhaps a good one too. But even with having good roles given to her on a platter I have yet to see a whole range of versatility in terms of what she is required to do onscreen.
Feel free to disagree or agree.
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