Alia Bhatt On Stereotypes, Success, And Starting Out in Hollywood
With a major Hollywood debut and no less than five Filmfare Awards under her belt, India’s most exciting cinematic talent is not only a force to be reckoned with on screen, but is pretty formidable in the flesh, too…
There is absolutely no small talk to be had with Alia Bhatt. Not that we mind. Quite the opposite, in fact. POV: The most celebrated actress in all of India is unassuming in all-black athleisure, nonchalantly perched on the arm of a photo-studio sofa, sipping on a Barry’s vegan smoothie. Arriving with a birthday cake for one of the crew, she spends the shoot dancing on set to AP Dhillon’s Dil Nu. She could very well be the girl next door. Apart from she isn’t. She is a megastar. And there should never be small talk with a megastar.
Dainty and diminutive at just over five foot, what the 30-year-old actress may lack in stature, she more than makes up for in presence. To wit, she pulls absolutely no punches with her interview answers, covering broad ground with a dexterity and a wisdom that is somewhat disarming. That’s the thing about Alia Bhatt – my God, she is sharp. But more than that – she is brutally and beautifully honest.
From sexism and motherhood to success, cancel culture, nepotism and privilege (her own – never an easy topic to broach), Alia’s view on the world is pretty empowered. And from someone who is about to take it on, this year more than ever, we thought it best to take notes.
Indeed, the day after our shoot, Alia collected her fifth Best Actress Filmfare Award, this time for Gangubai Kathiawadi, and as we went to press made her Met Gala debut in pearl-encrusted Prabal Gurung. Her foray into Hollywood also hits this summer, with blockbuster action flick Heart of Stone launching on Netflix on August 11th. It’s all less than 18 months after she got married to fellow actor Ranbir Kapoor and had a baby, no doubt transforming her life completely. Is she slowing down? It certainly doesn’t look like it. But should it matter either way? On this, as with everything else we spoke about, Alia Bhatt shared deeply. Small talk? No chance.
Alia Bhatt On life lessons and new motherhood
“2022 was the most momentous year of my life in terms of milestones. But for me, every day of 2023 is surprising. Every day is a new day with my daughter, and every day is a new day experiencing a new gesture or a new expression. I keep saying the most important thing I’ve learned is patience. I’ve always been a very impatient person, and if it’s possible, I became even more impatient over time. But I think having a baby and motherhood definitely gives you a sense of stillness, a sense of calm. I mean, it’s so highly demanding from the very beginning. It can be extremely overwhelming. But if you just go through it with patience, it really gives you a lot of inner strength.”
On nicknames and the inclusive meanings behind baby Raha’s name
“I just really enjoyed the fact that her name meant so many beautiful things in different languages. It means peace in Arabic, it means joy in Swahili, it means path in Hindi. They all kind of feel like the same thing. We call her different nicknames, but I like calling her pumpkin and pudding and pumpkin latte and cappuccino. I call her the most random names sometimes. Anything that just sounds really cute goes with her.”
On small talk at parties
“I’m not superficial. I find it very hard to go to parties and make small talk. I’m like, ‘Okay, we’re not talking to each other, you know, with any kind of seriousness. This conversation is not gonna matter.’ It’s why I’m very bad at gatherings with more than seven people. I’m very awkward. I’m rarely buzzing, which is why my wedding also had just 40 people. I need to have a real, deep conversation or else I don’t talk.”
On wrong moves and confidence
“People in the entertainment industry, we live in a lot of fear. ‘Oh, I shouldn’t say this because then people won’t like me, I shouldn’t do this because it could be the wrong move. I shouldn’t do this because I won’t be safe.’ But you can’t live in fear. I’m an actor, and only being a part of good films will matter to my career. What I do beyond that doesn’t matter.”
On men and women getting asked different questions after having a baby
“You would never ask a man a question about whether having a baby at the peak of his career was a brave decision. I’m being asked, ‘Are you willing to cut your pace down because you’re having a family?’ But to me, that’s okay. Maybe after working for 10 years at a certain pace, I felt that, okay, maybe I can cut that down and be a mum. I feel like it was very much led by love. I’ve always been that person who just does things with love. Whatever decision I make, if it feels right, I’ll do it. But if it doesn’t feel right, you’ll always see me taking 16 steps back. I could be offered the biggest movie, the biggest team, but if it doesn’t feel right, I wouldn’t be able to take that step forward. So [having a baby] was just purely nominated by that. And I don’t even think there was a question. It was just a very happy, natural decision.”
On cancel culture
“I have many thoughts [on cancel culture]. I also have many opinions. But I also feel like the world is full of opinions right now. So, I think the kind of person I want to be is one that keeps my opinions to myself, and leads with kindness and silence. Because we’re missing a lot of that. And yeah, I do feel people are very quick to judge. But there’s also a lot of good in the world that’s happening. So I choose to focus on that, and as long as I’m not adding to the noise and staying away from it, I’m okay.
On if having self-knowledge is crucial to being a good actor
“Well, yes and no, because being very in touch with your emotions is great. But being too aware of every single thing loses a certain magic. I think there is wonder in imperfection. And there’s a nice flavour to something raw and unfinished as opposed to something [too] proper. So, yeah, it’s important to know who you are, but whether you’re an actor or not, it’s important to know that. So I’m constantly learning more things about myself.”
On finding stillness in a world full of distractions
“I think you have to really go and find it. And I’m not saying find that stillness by taking a holiday in some faraway land and say, ‘I’m going to go and find myself.’ If you can’t find yourself in your bathroom, you’re not going to find yourself anywhere. I found that I was spending a lot of time on my phone, just faffing. But I put in a system where I’m now doing more things physically, in conversation with people, as opposed to on message. You have to really want to find that stillness. Make the effort.”
On the advice she most often gives to her friends
“I think it’s to let things go. I find that people just hold on to too much. ‘How can she say that? Why did he do that?’ No, let it go. I just feel like people hold on to things for too long. And I think I have always moved on very quickly from any kind of discomfort. I don’t hold grudges. I only have love to give.”
On what she’s learned from her parents and husband all being in the film industry
“In any professional working atmosphere, discipline, being kind to people that you work with, and being on time are very undervalued qualities. Not just in film, but in every industry. Everyone thinks that their work is the most important, everyone. To them, they’re doing the most important [thing]. So very often, there’s a certain disregard for another person’s work or life. And I think that takes away that kindness which you can give in a working atmosphere. Everybody’s doing their best. These three qualities are more important to me than talent, because you can be super talented but a complete pain to work with.”
On nepotism and privilege
“It has definitely come up a lot in conversation over the last couple of years. The long and short of it is, I empathise. I understand that it’s possibly been easier for me to get through the door than maybe the next person. And I compare my dreams to another person’s dreams: no dream is bigger or smaller, or more intense. Everybody’s dreams are the same, everybody’s desire is the same. So I completely understand where that conversation comes from. The only thing I can say is that I acknowledge the fact that I have gotten that head start. I acknowledge the fact that I do have that privilege, which is why I give 100 per cent every day and I never take my work for granted. The only thing I can do is keep my head down and keep working.”
On defining success
“Unfortunately, talent and success don’t always go hand in hand. But what is success? It’s a societal norm that you have to fit into. Like, ‘Okay, I have to have this many successful films, or this much money in my bank account, or this many homes…’ That’s not a barometer for success. To me, success is – and it’s the most cliched answer – but genuinely balance and peace of life. Peace of mind is success. Because you can be the most successful person in the room but nobody might like you. If you have no friends and no one to eat dinner with, what’s the point?”
On if it’s more important to be liked or respected
“It’s more important to be liked. Because you can be respected but everybody might still hate you. The thing is, it’s never going to be either-or. You might be liked by many but disliked by many, respected by some and disrespected by some. You can’t have it all. You know what’s most important? Just like yourself.”
On role choices, sparking conversation and underrepresented topics in the Indian film industry
“My film Highway touched upon the topic of how many girls face violence within their own home. It’s a survival story. With Kapoor & Sons, it was about how little time we have and how much we should value our family. I think that Priyanka, me and Katrina are already doing roles that are sparking new conversations. We’re doing more female friendship films. We don’t see much of that. Girls’ trips, girls just being friends and not fighting over stupid things. I’m quite excited about that. We realised [how important it was] when we announced it and the response we were met with was so positive. I remember PC [Priyanka Chopra] saying, ‘You don’t really know what you’re missing until you actually claim it.’”
On her new movie Heart of Stone, and if Hollywood was always a desire
“It was something that I wanted to explore someday. But it’s not just about being a part of a Hollywood movie, it’s about putting myself into different spaces and going outside my comfort zone a bit. So the same way I would do an English-language movie, I would do a South-language movie with the same excitement and the same eagerness to learn and grow and be challenged. So yeah, I think being part of Heart of Stone was a big tick off my bucket list. But it’s not just for the bucket list, it’s so that I can keep moving forward into different spaces… and challenging myself.”
On goals
“I don’t have goals. Because the thing is, what happens is once you achieve the goal, you start to look for another one. It always snowballs from one goal to another and you’re never satisfied.”
On gender politics in the Indian film industry
“Things have changed a lot in the Indian film industry. All the movies we make, the people we are, it’s just a subtle reflection of where we’re at as a society. I feel the younger generation being more vocal helps build out the narrative for women today. And also, of course, all the work that women have [already] done. I’m 30, but all the work that women have done for the last 30 years before me has led us to this moment. There’s still a lot of work left to do, but we have to continuously lead by example. Even the fact that I got pregnant at such a young age, still working as an actor and working through my pregnancy, I found that it was so normal. Ninety per cent of people were like, ‘Yeah, cool, she’s pregnant, she’s working, whatever.’ It wasn’t even a conversation. I shot an action movie while pregnant. So slowly, slowly, as long as you’re clear on what your standards are, you can put down the most dinosaurish thoughts.”
On the best thing that happened to her this week
“My daughter started touching my face. I think that’s the best thing that’s happened to me this past week. Because now when I’m feeding her, she just takes a minute, looks up at me and starts touching my face. It’s like a romantic moment between the two of us. And it’s literally the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my life.”
Photography by Francesco Scotti. Styling by Seher Khan
Editor in Chief: Olivia Phillips. Art Director: Oscar Yáñez. Senior Producer: Steff Hawker. Make-Up: Sharon Drugan. Hair: Deena Alawaid. Art Direction: Yehia Bedier. Lighting Technician: Shameem Shaheed. Set Assistant: Omar Shaban. Fashion Assistants: Imogene Legrand & Christina Aralikatti. Hair Assistant: Lindie Benade.
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s May 2023 issue.
