Nothing comes naturally to me: Alia Bhatt

She may personify spontaneity on screen but Alia Bhatt says acting is a "challenge" and she is "not naturally gifted" at it.

The 25-year-old actor says she tries not to take her profession seriously and let the 'act' from the actor flow into the character arc when it is show time.

"Nothing comes naturally to me. I'm not saying acting is a terrible procedure. It's a challenge. But the process is such that you don't have to take it seriously and just let it flow naturally in a sense of the character, not you as an actor," Bhatt told reporters in a group interview here.

The actor was in the national capital to promote her upcoming film "Raazi", with director Meghna Gulzar and co-star Vicky Kaushal.

In the film set against the 1971 War, Bhatt plays an Indian woman who marries into a family of Pakistani Armymen to spy for her country.

Talking about her character, Sehmat, the actor says there is a misconception that one has to have a James Bond-like persona to be a spy.

"You don't have to have a strong and forceful demeanour to look like a spy. She's (Sehmat) very quiet, feminine and scared at the same time. She's graceful, soft and at the same time very strong. I watched some films to get the character's outline right but I didn't have to do anything overtly. I just had to stay true to the situation."
"If the film succeeds to spark a debate about introspection with respect to the idea of nationalism, we would be happy. If people start questioning what is the essence of patriotism, what is it to love and sacrifice for your country, I will be very happy."