Lara Dutta’s father was Indira Gandhi’s personal pilot, helped her prepare for her role in Akshay Kumar’s Bell Bottom

New Delhi: Lara Dutta has stunned everyone with her transformation into Indira Gandhi in Akshay Kumar starrer upcoming espionage film Bell Bottom. But did you know that the actress' father was in the Indian Airforce and was a personal pilot of the former Prime Minister of India? Lara says the biggest compliment for her was her father approving her portrayal of Mrs Gandhi.

“The biggest compliment for me, honestly, comes from my dad because he used to be Mrs Gandhi’s personal pilot when he was in the Air Force. He is somebody who knew her personally. And if I could convince him, I think that, for me, was a job well done. He saw my look only when the trailer was released and I was really glad to see his reaction,” shared Lara in interaction with ETimes.

The actress also revealed that once her incredible look as Indira Gandhi was achieved due to prosthetics, she worked hard on emulating her mannerism and personality. “My director and I watched hours and hours of footage of Mrs Gandhi’s interviews, archival footage of her interactions with other people at various events. And, we made a lot of notes about the nuances, the movement of her eyes, her hand, the way she spoke, interacted with people, the way she reacted when she was provoked by journalists,” said the actress.

Lara said her father’s insights also helped her mold her character. “Dad was also an invaluable source of inputs because he was able to give me an insight into her, how she behaved when she was around people. So we have pieced it all together keeping in mind that the situation in the film is quite dramatic.”

Bell Bottom is a spy thriller starring Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta, Huma Qureshi and Vaani Kapoor. The movie is set in 1984, when Mrs Gandhi ordered Operation Blue Star and was later assassinated. The film is directed by Ranjit Tiwari and will see a theatrical release on August 19.