I regret not being more politically aware: Alia Bhatt on her Saifai appearance

Alia Bhatt says she genuinely feels bad for not being aware of the happenings in the state.

New Delhi: Alia Bhatt, who was in the middle of controversy for participating in the Bollywood extravaganza in Uttar Pradesh`s Saifai village, says she genuinely feels bad for not being aware of the happenings in the state.

"I don`t want to stretch this topic because it is kind of over. I would say that nobody tried to hurt anybody... We are not sadistic people. We did good cause as well. I do feel bad for not being aware. I was aware of the riots... But I was not aware of the circumstances few days prior to the event. I feel bad about that and I genuinely believe I should be more aware of the happenings," Alia said. However, the actress feels that it was not fair to call her and other participants inhuman. "I really feel it was blown out of proportion. I don`t think it was required but I don`t think it was wrong either. It was just not fair to call us inhuman." The cultural event in the ancestral village of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav saw performances by Salman Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Alia. The event drew criticism from media and public who slammed the state government for spending lavishly on Bollywood stars at a time when Muzaffarnagar riot victims struggling without proper rehabilitation. Alia`s father, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, had expressed regret that despite being a politically aware person, he did not stop her from attending the event. "My father did not apologise for what I did. He apologised for the fact that being so politically aware he let this happen. I think even he could not connect the dots. He accepted the mistake," Alia said. The actress, who made her debut in 2012 with Karan Johar`s `Student of The Year`, will be next seen in Imtiaz Ali`s road movie `Highway`. In the film Alia plays a city girl- Veera, who gets kidnapped and eventually finds freedom in her bondage. "There were lot of challenges doing this role- physical and emotional. There is certain amount of action in the film but not choreographed, which is more strenuous. My body would be in a lot of pain for days," Alia said. `Highway` also stars Randeep Hooda and the film will hit theatres on February 21.