Alia Bhatt: From being mama's little girl to a self-assured actress

There was once a little waif playing around quietly, unobtrusively in Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan’s home. No one might have imagined the petit moppet of yesterday growing up to set the tone for an entire lot of newbies, and turning out to be the diva of powerhouse performances that draws the audience magnetically.

Alia Bhatt set the net on fire with everyone having an opinion, cartoons, jokes and reviews revolving around her but basically, she’s caught everyone’s attention and is working with famous directors — and that’s what matters. Is it genes? Osmosis? Karmic destiny? Or is it Alia Bhatt’s work that sparkles through the deluge of films that clog the box office every Friday, catapulting her way above a whole set of bright newbies?

The zesty, smart kid which her real life persona reflects doesn’t fit the internet bimbette jokes on her but just add to her sense of joie de vivre. Not long ago, she asked her co-star Varun Dhawan, shyly, concernedly, “Will I be a one star wonder?” on the sets of Student of The Year.

I had met her years ago, when she was completely a mamma’s girl. Not a sentence passed without her mother’s name being chanted. And today, she is diametrically opposite. Making her own decisions, self-assured, and ready to move out into her own pad. “I’m definitely looking for a place of my own,” she says. Alia is the fledgling who has grown up into a lovely bird ready to take on the demanding world of films with panache and her ability to live life on her own terms, making choices and being accountable for them.

In our growth curve, it becomes important to grow and spread our wings. It is essential in our lives to make decisions, and take responsibility for them. It is important to realise that we must not always seek approval from our parents, and avoid clinging and being dependent on them.

Dependency is not love, it is a liability. When we make choices and are able to give space to our parents, they become friends, guides and philosophers and not dictators. They too have to grow up and let go and let live. It is a healthier situation for both. And, above all, life is all about survival of the fittest. How can you be fit and self-reliant, if you are mummy and daddy’s girl?

“I have grown to be more independent and I even feel older. Highway changed my perspective towards life. To be successful, it is essential to have freedom of thought. This freedom comes not only from my choices but also my parents’ ability to not interfere,” she says.

Alia’s work and subsequent success have given her the impetus to make up her mind when there are choices to be made.

She says, “For Highway, we were in the mountains, where an energy took over me and there was self-discovery and learning at a deeper level of self. I dream of buying a home in the mountains. I’ve aged since I began to work and my perspective towards life has changed. I didn’t understand emotions as deeply as I do now. When you commit mistakes and take your own decisions, a certain gravity is unearthed. No arrogance, no ‘me, myself and I’ but a certain responsibility and self-reliance comes in.”

The author is a luxury consultant and lifestyle columnist.

You can mail her at nishajamvwal@gmail.com