For me, she is the sunrise,” declared an ecstatic Mahesh Bhatt when we called to congratulate the filmmaker. Sunday brought him among the biggest joys of his life. Bhatt’s actor-daughter Alia Bhatt and husband Ranbir Kapoor welcomed a baby girl at 12.05 pm, hours after the expectant mother was admitted to the HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in south Mumbai.

“Alia and the baby are doing well. Neetu Kapoor and Soni Razdan were by the new parents’ side at the time of the delivery,” a source said.

Bhatt, who rushed to meet his granddaughter later in the day, couldn’t contain his happiness. “This is such a luminous, glorious moment in my life. This child has only deepened my awe about the unfathomable mystery of life. The birth of a child is like a volcanic eruption; it changes everything.” 

Naturally, the moment also made him realise how far his youngest daughter has come in life. “In the blink of an eye, a girl whom I carried in my arms, is now a mama. Life is like an unending magic show, a continuous celebration.”

When Alia had announced her pregnancy, her filmmaker-father had said that he was gearing up for the most important role of his life. So, what kind of a grandfather will he make? “I will be the coolest grandfather in town,” he laughs.

Hours after the delivery, Alia took to Instagram to share the joyous news with fans. She posted a digital sketch of a lion, lioness and a cub in an embrace, with the caption reading, “Our baby is here, and what a magical girl she is. We are officially bursting with love.” The actor couple tied the knot in April after dating for five years. Their first offering together, Brahmastra: Part One — Shiva released in September.

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She is born — that’s how actor Soni Razdan informed filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt of the arrival of their daughter Alia Bhatt’s first child. And what followed was an ocean of emotions for the new nana. “Just yesterday, Alia was a little baby I carried in my arms. Now, she is a mumma to a baby girl,” he tells us, adding, “When my wife called me from the hospital, I can’t put in words the manner in which she communicated those words... Chhoti ke aane se ghar bada ho gaya.”

Alia and Ranbir, the filmmaker says, are “quite overwhelmed by this life- altering moment”. “The birth of a child alters everything around you. It’s going to change them deeply. And they’re welcome to that change,” says the 74-year-old, adding that his and Soni’s role as grandparents will also play a big part in the little one’s upbringing.