Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; May 13, 2018)

One of the finest young actors of today, Alia Bhatt’s fearlessness isn’t limited to the screen. At 25, she is fiercely objective and individualistic about her opinions and life choices, a trait that’s visible in her choice of films, too. Like her outspoken parents — Soni Razdan and Mahesh Bhatt — you admire her urge to express herself earnestly. In Meghna Gulzar’s Raazi (produced by Junglee Pictures and Dharma Productions), which has opened to rave reviews, Alia is seen on the screen for the first time with her mom Soni, an accomplished theatre and film actor. On Mother’s Day, BT caught up with the mother-daughter duo to talk about their real-life camaraderie, representation of women in Bollywood today and sharing screen space for the first time in this real story on an unusual spy. Excerpts...

You play mother-daughter in Raazi.Did your off-screen relationship help you portray your roles better? How was it being co-stars for the first time?
Soni: I was so focussed on my role that I didn’t really bother about what she was doing on the set (laughs!). I am very professional and Alia is a lot like me, so we didn’t think of us being mother and daughter on set. Having said that, it helped me to have her around — all the emotions came naturally to me because of that.
Alia: Barring the first day, I didn’t really think that I was working with my mom in a film. Also, as far as her career is concerned, I believe that it’s going to restart now. I am already sensing a certain excitement about her in the industry. It’s like, ‘Oh, she is still interested in acting’. I think she will be busier than me in a few years and I will have to wait for her dates (smiles).

Talking about Raazi, there’s a bidaai track — Dilbaro— in the movie. The song has been shot so realistically, did it compel you to think about Alia’s real-life shaadi? Today’s actresses have become game-changers. Many of them have balanced their marriage and career beautifully
Soni: I don’t believe that marriage stops you from doing other things in life, but it has its own challenges. So, I feel that Alia needs at least five years before she settles down. Actually not ‘settle’ per se, you should keep going. This profession is so demanding, I feel that you need to take your time before making the decision.
Alia (cuts in): I don’t like to put numbers to life. It all depends on the timing — right person, right time, right feeling. When I feel I have found the right person who makes me feel, ‘This is it’, I will do it.

Soni, you are an accomplished actress in your own right. So, how does it feel to be known as ‘Alia Bhatt’s mom’ today? On the other hand, Alia, from being known as Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan’s daughter, you’ve created an identity for yourself. You must be proud of what you’ve been able to achieve in a relatively short span of time…
Soni: Now I have a new claim to fame. Wherever I go, people say, ‘Alia Bhatt ki mummy aayi hai’. Chalo, I have suddenly become important and that’s fine. I am very happy to hear that, actually (smiles).
Alia: I will always be their daughter first, but yes, I am happy that whatever I had hoped for has happened so fast. That’s why I didn’t start off my career by doing a film for my father. I was 16 when I met Karan. The minute my mom realised Karan (Johar) was interested (in launching me), she knew that it was safe territory. I give her a lot of credit for making the right decisions for me when I was a kid.

Soni, at 25, Alia is one of the highest paid actresses in India. Do you two still have those typical mother-daughter banters on late nights, savings and relationships?
Alia: I will answer that! We don’t even live together anymore, but mom still calls me to say, ‘I hope you are going home straight after this (an event).’ We have a family instant messaging group and that’s very entertaining. About money, I have asked my parents to deal with it as it stresses me out. If I get calls from banks, I get more confused. Like mathematics, I just don’t get money handling. It’s one of my pet peeves.
Soni: I have a ‘find your friends’ app on my phone and both my daughters (Shaheen and Alia) are on it. I am not saying that I am a detective mom, but once in a while, I keep checking on them. I know that it’s exhausting to constantly explain where you are and what you are doing, so I don’t ask her too many questions every day.

Soni, many feel that Alia has achieved too much too soon as far as her career is concerned. What are your views on it?
Soni: It’s all relative. She may not have faced the struggles that I did, but it’s tough to be where she is today and to live up to so many expectations. I know that people will say, ‘I’d love to have her kind of struggle with all that money in my bank’. But you cannot understand the pressures of this job until you are in it. When she was younger, it was stressful for her to follow a strict diet and things like that — it would play havoc with her emotional state. Media plays an important role, too. The feedback you get before a film release can be very intimidating.
Alia: I feel that as human beings, even if we don’t have problems, we will still find problems to fuss about. It’s solving them that give us true happiness. I might not have the problems of an average 25-year-old girl, but I have other problems that I struggle with on a daily basis. Those who are not part of this industry, might not be able to relate to it, but those who do understand, let me be.

Soni, you started off in the late ‘70s, when Bollywood’s leading ladies had a certain image, and you didn’t necessarily fit into that mould. Do you think actresses of today, including Alia, are fortunate, as the industry is less rigid now?
Absolutely! I am happy that Alia has entered an industry, which is ready for her in terms of physicality, roles and mindset. I was a complete anomaly in this business. I didn’t fit into the Hema Malini-Zeenat Aman commercial cinema mould, neither the Shabana Azmi-Smita Patil art cinema mould. It was a miracle that I became an actress. I survived because of hard work and perseverance. Jo bhi mila, le liya... I probably marketed myself all wrong. I had exotic looks, I should have done those glamorous roles that exuded oomph. But in my head, I was always an actress first. I didn’t want to be a sex symbol. That was perhaps my mistake, but you can’t really change who you are.

From the outside, Alia doesn’t seem like a typical selfie-obsessed 25-year-old. How would you describe your daughter?
Soni: She is in no way a typical 25-year-old. She hasn’t been a typical teenager or college-going girl either, she never had the chance. She started working from a very young age. Alia is emotionally intelligent and exudes wisdom beyond her years. Her understanding based on instinct is a quality that is rare.

Alia, what’s the one piece of advice from your mom that has helped you the most in your journey as an actor?
I think she is a fabulous actor. I remember while I was filming Student Of The Year, during one shot, she told me, ‘Sometimes, doing less is more’ and Mickey Contractor (make-up artist) follows the same mantra. That advice really helped me, because sometimes we think, ‘Expression dena hai toh hum aanth expressions ek shot mein de dete hai’. Doing less and not overacting is what I have learnt from my mom.

You have made many brave choices in your career so far. Have you inherited this trait from your parents?
Alia: The film choices are mine, but the mindset is theirs. My father is a walking-talking quote book, so I constantly get advice and direction from him. When you are brought up in a house that allows an individual to voice his/her opinion freely, it shapes your thinking.
Soni: When you have a family that is open to talking about anything, it makes a lot of difference, because you don’t have to hide anything. You don’t have to lead a double life.

Alia, do you think you have taken after your mother?
Alia: My mom and I are similar in a lot of ways. We have a certain objectivity when looking at things, as that’s the way we have been brought up.
Soni: It’s not just parents who bring up their children, children bring up their parents, too. At some point, there’s a role reversal. They are the younger generation. They have their ideas and that rubs off on you, which is interesting.