Actor Pooja Bhatt and writer-director Alankrita Shrivastava have a lot in common, but before anything else they share the relationship of fan and star. Shrivastava says she watched Bhatt’s super-hit 1991 film with Aamir Khan, Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin 21 times. Unapologetically feminist, both women have used cinema to discuss women empowerment. Bhatt has played powerful protagonists in Zakham and Tamanna, and directed Jism and Paap, stories that allowed the female characters to express their sexuality. Never hesitating to speak her mind, Bhatt has in her personal life too, been upfront, whether it was about her relationships or her struggle with alcohol addiction. 

In the last few years, Shrivastava had made a space for herself among the women directors in Bollywood, gaining attention for films such as Turning 30 and Lipstick Under My Burkha.