An Open Letter To Alia Bhatt From An Angered Bihari!

The trailer of Udta Punjab is out and people can't stop raving about it. Be it about their star cast or about the story line, the movie is definitely worth the wait. But, Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are the one's who are stealing the show. Their look from the movie has become the highlight and we just can't stop talking about it. 

While all of us were praising Alia's look in the movie, there was one fan who was left angered after the trailer. In an open letter, Srishti Jha accuses Alia for 'trying too hard' and 'stereotyping Biharis' in the Udta Punjab. 

" Dear Alia,

Just like the rest of the country, I am thrilled by the intense trailer of Udta Punjab . Shahid looks like a rockstar. The movie appears gritty and real. The music is something we're all waiting madly for. But just one thing, I somehow could not digest your migrant Bihari character. While others, reportedly, got ‘goose bumps’ watching you, I thought you were trying too hard to pass off as Bihari, especially considering (as you have constantly claimed yourself) that you took such great pains to lend authenticity to the role.As a bonafide Bihari myself, I think I have the right to be absolutely blunt. So, here goes.

Firstly, your treatment of the character is nothing but a concoction of stereotypes. (Trust me, this kind of stereotyping is far ahead of what even Chetan Bhagat is capable of.)

 Secondly,  ‘Bihari’ is not a language. People in Bihar converse in Maithili, Bhojpuri, Maghai or Angika. They don't speak in ‘Bihari’; people who originate here are referred to as Biharis and not their language. You actually underwent  a month-long coaching to get the dialect right, and still ended up calling the language 'Bihari'? Not good. And, by the way, 'Ee', 'Ka', 'Kon', 'Chutiy***' is not the 'Bihari' language either. It's just lazy stereotyping, something Bollywood has always excelled at.

Thirdly - and this makes me weep -  the costumes and props that you claim helped you 'nail' the Bihari look  are nothing but  soiled, tattered clothes, grimy skin and messed up hair. These are not the preserve of just the state of Bihar, only the grave manifestations of poverty the world over. Is this what you think, Alia? Do you really think all Biharis are poor and look like this? Shame."

We completely agree to the letter but is Alia the only one responsible for it? Isn't the director, Abhishek Chaubey also accountable for the same? In the end, an actor's job is to put the director's vision on the screen! 

So are you listening, Abhishek?! 

Alia took to twitter to talk about  the overreaction on Social Media and we just assume, this is in response to the letter - 

What do you guys think?