From 'Jab We Met', and 'Rockstar' to 'Amar Singh Chamkila', Imtiaz Ali has made many great films. One of these is 'Highway', which proved to be a turning point for Alia Bhatt's career. Alia and Ranveer Hooda were seen in the lead roles in this film. In this film, Alia did something that hardly anyone would have thought of. But, Imtiaz Ali initially did not want to cast Alia Bhatt in this film. He wanted a mature actress to work in the film, but when he met Alia during a film screening, his opinion about the casting of the film changed.

Alia was not the first choice for Highway

Imtiaz Ali revealed this in a conversation with Mid Day and said that initially, he did not want to cast Alia Bhatt in this film. He wanted to cast a mature actress like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the film, because he had imagined the lead of the film as a mature woman and not a young actress like Alia Bhatt. But, when he met Alia at the screening of 'Luv Shav Te Chicken Khurana', he was mesmerized by her liveliness.

How Imtiaz was impressed with Alia

Talking about this, Imtiaz Ali said - 'Her emotional level was very high, due to which I was attracted to talking to her. As she spoke deeply on the topics of home and society, I realized her understanding. I understood that the emotional depth that she has, is what she needs in Veera. This character can be played by the young girl standing in front of me.' 

Imtiaz Ali wanted to cast Aishwarya in Highway

Imtiaz Ali admitted that he originally wanted to cast an older actress for the role. He possibly wanted to cast someone like Aishwarya Rai in the film. He had envisioned Aishwarya as Veera without makeup, and she seemed to fit in. However, he never approached anyone else after meeting Alia. "Aishwarya Rai without makeup would have been a good choice, but I didn't approach anyone," says Ali.