AN ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY BY ALIA BHATT

HOLD ON A SECOND, YOU'RE NOT ABOUT TO READ A MOVIE TRANSCRIPT. THIS IS, HOWEVER, A WHOLLY ORIGINAL STORY, AND IT'S ALIA BHATT'S TO TELL

- AMBIKA MUTTOO

Good conversations happen around food,” Alia Bhatt smiles. It’s been a full day for her, and this conversation is happening at sunset, aka snack time (for both of us!) over Zoom. She’s makeup free, hair brushed back, in a white tee and jeans, sitting on a sofa. Stunning. Also, kind.

There’s a version of this story that you might already know. A beautiful face the entire nation adores. A talent that takes her to that rare upper echelon – that one that’s even beyond A-list. The opinions. The relentless scrutiny. About her every move, her film choices, her family, her fashion… Yes, we’re all looking at Alia. Then, she begins to talk and you realise: she’s looking right back. She’s been picking up on it all – every detail is being felt, absorbed, processed.

It turns out her biggest project yet is the work she’s been putting in with herself. It’s quieter, slower, and, most importantly, private. Where does your worth actually live when you stop looking for it in other people’s reactions? Is balance a myth? Is there a rhythm to life that could make you more resilient? And does it all, ultimately and crucially, boil down to… choice.

So, while you might think you know everything about Alia, this is still a radical, underrated act of a woman, who loves and thinks deeply, deciding what her life looks like on her own terms. Which, it turns out, is exactly the point. And that is the story she is letting us in on.

AMBIKA: Let’s begin with you starting out at the age of 19. What is one belief that you held then, at 19, that you now disagree with?