Alia Bhatt on her elder sister’s struggle with getting over the condition, despite her love and support
Subhash K Jha (DNA; December 2, 2016)

Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan’s elder daughter Shaheen recently wrote about her battle with depression. Shaheen’s younger sister Alia says family and close friends have always been aware of Shaheen’s sensitive mental condition.

Says Alia, “All those who are close to her know about it. It’s not as if Shaheen had never spoken about it before. She has, to her loved ones. Apart from the depression, my sister also has insomnia. So we’ve spent many sleepless nights talking.”

Alia feels a kind of helplessness about her sister’s condition. She adds, “Though my sister and I share a very honest relationship and we’re very close, nothing that I can say or do can help her situation. So yes, she has to constantly work herself out of her depression.”

Alia continues, “I am there to support her unconditionally. If she just needs me to be around, I am there for her. Whenever she needs to talk to me, I am there to talk to her. But she has her own process of dealing with it which only she understands and I can’t be part of. No matter how hard I try.”

Alia also reveals that Shaheen attends therapy sessions regularly. “Whenever she seeks me for companionship, I am there. Otherwise she is a strong person and she has to deal with it herself. No matter how much I love her, I can’t help her get over the depression. She has to do it on her own.”