Alia Bhatt says Sanam Saeed's Zindagi Gulzar Hai character helped her prep for latest film Kalank

Guess who's the latest fan of Sanam Saeed's Zindagi Gulzar Hai!

Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt has revealed that she looked to Sanam's character Kashaf for inspiration when preparing for her latest film, a pre-partition drama called Kalank.

In a recent interview, she claimed that her role as a dancer in Kalank has several parallels with Kashaf:

Alia told PTI, "Abhishek asked me to watch Zindagi Gulzar Hai. The character of the girl (Kashaf played by Sanam Saeed) in the show is very much how [my character] Roop will deal with the situation. She has responsibility on her shoulders so she is not always a happy person. She is vulnerable yet strong. It is difficult (to bring so many) layers - unhappy, vulnerable and strong to a character. Abhishek kept saying that I should be irritating."

Sanam Saeed responded to her comments on Twitter:

The Student Of The Year star also said, "I watched a lot of old films like Mughal-E-Azam and Umrao Jaan to get an understanding of grace and body language. (And) I had to clean my Hindi as I am speaking Urdu (in the film). "

Zindagi Gulzar Hai followed Kashaf's ups and downs in her journey towards love and professional success. The Hum TV serial was greatly enjoyed by Indian viewers when it was briefly aired on Zindagi TV and screened as part of a Fawad Khan fest in 2016 (yes, that happened).