Alia on wearing wedding saree for National Film Awards

Alia Bhatt says repeating her ivory wedding saree for the National Film Awards ceremony was an "instinctive" decision as she wanted to honour the milestone moment by wearing a special outfit.

Alia won the best actress National Film Award for her performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi. For the ceremony held last month, she wore the hand-dyed ivory organza sari embroidered with fine tilla work, designed by Sabyasachi Mukherjee for her wedding with actor Ranbir Kapoor in 2022.

"Whenever there is a big event or big moment coming up, you start preparing for it... I instinctively felt like, 'I'm going to re-wear my wedding saree'. The saree was ideated and done beautifully by Sabyasachi Mukherjee but it was a lot of me, white and gold combination and certain symbols.

"It was the garment I felt most myself in. And it was a really special moment for a different reason. A special outfit can be worn for a special occasion more than once," the 30-year-old said at the HT Leadership Summit here.

The actress said she endorses reusing and recycling clothes as it has been a common practice for years.

"I don't think I was doing anything that people haven't been doing for many years... For those, who may already be doing it, they say we are encouraging the conversation more. For those, who feel that for a special occasion, they have to wear an outfit that hasn't been seen before, I just wanted to change that a little bit around. I believe it doesn't matter, it's the person who is wearing the outfit that matters," she added.

Alia believes celebrities should be making a positive impact on people with their choices.

"It's just us being mindful that you don't always need to buy a new outfit. It's the more conscious thing to do. And you may not be able to do that all the time. But if you end up doing it a couple of times, it's a big statement to make for yourself and for the planet." Alia shared the Best Actress National Award with Kriti Sanon for her work in the Hindi film Mimi.

Asked how she felt moments before she received the award from President Droupadi Murmu, Alia recalled sharing a warm hug with Kriti.

"Kriti was standing in front of me, and she looked back at me and said 'I want to give you a hug'. And I just hugged her and we both got emotional. It was just two young girls living the dream and feeling a moment of gratitude and sharing it with each other. We both had tears in our eyes after that moment," she added.