Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; July 23, 2018)

One of the finest actresses today, Alia Bhatt has displayed her versatility with an array of roles in a relatively short span of time. Her consistent success has only raised expectations, thankfully, not eyebrows. Despite hailing from the film industry, Ranbir Kapoor (her alleged boyfriend) and her stardom have never been questioned by ‘outsiders’ given their talent and powerhouse performances. When we spoke to Alia about her take on the issue, the actress had an interesting observation to make.

She explained, “Of late, I have realised that there is no need to defend the nepotistic nature of the industry because it does exist. The reason why it has become an emotional debate is because it is difficult for those who don’t get a chance. If I was on the other side, I would be heartbroken. I may have felt the same way. Yes, it does exist everywhere, but this is the only business where there’s no fixed funda. You need to be at the right place at the right time. For instance, if you want to be a doctor, you study, give your examination and get a job. In film business, you can do whatever you want, but there has to be that X factor that people talk about. There are so many people who come from nowhere and make it big purely on the basis of their presence and what they bring to the screen. An XYZ person can be very good looking and some other can be marginally good looking, but the latter can be a bigger star or loved more because of their talent. There are no hard and fast rules as such, so I totally get the emotional upheaval. As far as I am concerned, I won’t even say that I was more prepared because I was so and so’s daughter. I just got very lucky with my first try (Student Of The Year), but you can only get lucky with that first chance. After that only bhagwaan bachaye.”