Alia Bhatt
Alia Bhatt
Main page
72

Alia Bhatt

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Alia Bhatt

Alia Bhatt (/ˈɑːliə ˈbʌt/; born 15 March 1993) is a British actress of Indian descent who predominantly works in Hindi films. Known for her portrayals of women in challenging circumstances, she has received several accolades, including a National Film Award and seven Filmfare Awards. She is one of India's highest-paid actresses. Time awarded her with the Time100 Impact Award in 2022 and named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2024.

Born into the Bhatt family, she is a daughter of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and actress Soni Razdan. After making her acting debut as a child in the 1999 thriller film Sangharsh, she played her first leading role in Karan Johar's teen film Student of the Year (2012). She won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress for playing a kidnapping victim in the road drama Highway (2014) and went on to establish herself with starring roles in several romantic films produced by Johar's studio Dharma Productions.

Bhatt won Filmfare Awards for Best Actress for playing a victim of drug abuse in the crime drama Udta Punjab (2016), an undercover spy in the thriller Raazi (2018), a possessive girlfriend in the musical drama Gully Boy (2019), and the title role of a prostitute in the biopic Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022). The last of these also earned her the National Film Award for Best Actress. She expanded to film production with the black comedy Darlings (2022) and had her biggest commercial success in the fantasy film Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva (2022) and the romantic comedy Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023). The last of these earned her a record-tying fifth Best Actress award at Filmfare, followed by a record-setting sixth for her performance in the action thriller Jigra (2024), which she also co-produced.

In addition to acting, Bhatt supports various charities and is an investor and prominent brand endorser. She founded an ecological initiative, CoExist, in 2017, a production company, Eternal Sunshine Productions, in 2019, and a sustainable clothing brand, Ed-a-Mamma, in 2022. Bhatt has sung eight of her film songs, including the single "Samjhawan Unplugged" in 2014. She is married to actor Ranbir Kapoor, with whom she has a daughter.

Bhatt was born into the Bhatt family on 15 March 1993 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. She is a daughter of Indian filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and British actress Soni Razdan. Her father is of Gujarati descent, and her mother is a Kashmiri-Pandit of German-British ancestry. Bhatt holds British citizenship. She is the granddaughter of producer-director Nanabhai Bhatt. She has an elder sister, Shaheen, and two half-siblings, Pooja and Rahul Bhatt. Actor Emraan Hashmi and director Mohit Suri are her paternal cousins, while producer Mukesh Bhatt is her uncle. Educated at the Jamnabai Narsee School, Bhatt dropped out of twelfth grade to pursue acting.

Describing her childhood, Bhatt said, "had a rather grounded and modest upbringing. I didn't get the pleasures that people assume I would've got because I am Mahesh Bhatt's daughter." Growing up, she was not close with her father; Razdan said that she raised her children mostly as a single parent as her husband did not take much interest in their lives. Bhatt said that as a child, she "didn't miss him as such because I did not really have him,”adding that they developed a closer bond only when she became an actress.

Bhatt aspired to act from a young age, saying that she first realised her interest while rehearsing for the school choir in kindergarten. She soon began dance lessons at Shiamak Davar's institute. Her first acting role was at age five in her father's production venture Sangharsh (1999), in which she briefly played the younger version of Preity Zinta's character. Talking about her experience, Bhatt later remarked that she did not remember much of it. At age nine, she auditioned for a role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film Black (2005), but did not get the part. Three years later, Bhansali cast Bhatt opposite Ranbir Kapoor, ten years her senior, to make their debuts in his film Balika Vadhu, which was shelved.

Bhatt had her first leading role in 2012 with Karan Johar's Student of the Year, alongside newcomers Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan. She auditioned alongside 500 girls and was cast by Johar on the condition that she lose 16 kg (35 lb), which she did in three months. She played a sophisticated teenage girl involved in a love triangle. Anupama Chopra of Hindustan Times mentioned similarities between her character and Kareena Kapoor's role in Johar's Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), but noted that her performance was "without the killer attitude.” Lisa Tsering of The Hollywood Reporter dismissed her as "a washout,” finding her "inelegant in the dance numbers" and her "expressions [to be] limited.” The film grossed 960 million (US$11 million) at the box office, becoming a commercial success.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.