Alia Bhatt made a stunning appearance in a gorgeous saree as she ascended the stairs of the Met Gala 2024 on Monday, capturing everyone’s attention. However, she wasn’t the only one. Donning a simple saree, Nitanshi Goel, who recently debuted in Kiran Rao’s ‘Laapataa Ladies,’ also made her Met Gala debut.

A photo of the 17-year-old actress at the Met Gala has gone viral on the internet. However, there’s an intriguing twist to the image: it’s been altered using Photoshop.

The official social media handle of Aamir Khan Productions, which supported ‘Laapataa Ladies,’ shared the photo. The image was a digitally altered one, depicting the actress standing at the iconic staircase of the Met Gala carpet, held annually at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City. In the photo, she appeared in character, Phool, from the movie, dressed in a simple red saree with a maroon shawl draped over her shoulders, and a matching bindi adorning her forehead. Sporting a modest smile, she held her saree with one hand while grasping the shawl with the other.

The caption read, “Our Phool blossoming in the garden of time (flower emoji) Watch #LaapataaLadies on @NetflixIndia now.” The actress shared the post, and playfully wrote, “Met Gala 2024 (flower emoji).”

Fans have gone gaga over it. One user commented, “phool in her timeless shaadi ka joda.” Another wrote, “Favourite phool of the season.” A third one commented, “Such a fresh air to the industry. Way to go. Stay blessed.” One person gushed, “You don’t belong at gala.. you belong to my heart.”

Nitanshi portrayed the role of Phool, a young bride who gets lost, in the film. Talking about her preparation for the role, she told ANI, “I watched ‘Sui Dhaaga,’ ‘Balika Vadhu’ and a lot of Bhojpuri women’s videos to see how the women are there because this is the story of 2001 and I am born in 2007. So I had never seen that era and now, I wanted to live this era in the audition itself. I wanted that by looking at my body language, people should feel that I am telling the story of those women. So I practiced their body language and practiced how to wear a veil.”

As for ‘Laapataa Ladies,’ set against the backdrop of rural India in 2001, it revolves around two young brides who become separated during a train journey, and what happens when a police officer takes on the responsibility of investigating the missing persons case. Initially released in cinemas on March 1, the film garnered immense praise upon its subsequent release on Netflix in April.