Actress Alia Bhatt, who came under scrutiny for performing in Bollywood extravaganza in Uttar Pradesh`s Saifai village, said that she is sorry and 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,” said Alia Bhatt to PTI.

But the actress feels that media and people are taking the incident too far by calling everyone who at the event ‘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,” said Alia Bhatt.

Salman Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Alia Bhatt were among over two dozen celebrities who performed at the Bollywood night in Saifai. The cultural event took place in the ancestral village of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. 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 Bhatt’s father, Mahesh Bhatt, had previously expressed regret over not being able to stop his daughter from performing at the event.

“My father did not apologize for what I did. He apologized 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.

Alia Bhatt, who made her debut in Karan Johar’s ‘Student Number One’, will next be seen in Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Highway’. The actress said that playing a kidnap victim in the movie was very challenging.

“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.