Alia Bhatt, the bubbly 18-year-old girl who made a debut with Karan Johar’s Student of the Year has turned 25 now. Unlike her previous birthdays, the Brahmastra actress has decided to have a working birthday with her co-star Ranbir Kapoor. Perhaps, she has a busy year ahead. The dimpled beauty has so much in her to-do list as of now, that she chose to have a low-key birthday celebration with her Brahmastra cast in Bulgaria.
On her special day, if we look back at her film journey in Bollywood, Alia Bhatt has evolved from a newbie into one of the finest and youngest actresses in the trade. As Student Of The Year released, cinephiles stereotyped her as a ‘glamdoll’ of Bollywood. In the film, she portrayed the role of a rich brat Shanaya Singhania who likes to flaunt her Louis Vuitton bags on the peppy Bollywood numbers. She was typecasted as a new ‘girl-next-door’ of Bollywood, joining the league of many other actresses who carry the same label.
However, it took only a couple of years for Alia Bhatt to prove that she’s more than just a pretty face, more than just glamorous designer outfits. She signed a film with Imtiaz Ali, which proved to be a table-turner for the young actress. Yes, we’re talking about Highway. Alia Bhatt had no qualms in ripping of her beautiful self to get into the skin of a sexually assaulted girl, Veera. Right from the launch of trailer, Alia Bhatt had put a gag on every mouth who said that this girl can never act.
After the release of Highway, there was no stopping for Alia Bhatt. While the Bollywood buffs were still swooning over her applaud-worthy performance in Highway, she roped in another movie, which threw her several notches higher in the acting game. She did Udta Punjab opposite Shahid Kapoor in 2016. Again she had put her beauty and glamorous diva avatar at stake to ace the role of a Bihar migrant. She got so much into the skin of the character that her co-stars on the sets thought for a while before talking to her between the shots. Yes, she was ugly, filthy and that’s Alia Bhatt transformed from an actor into an artist!
Rest is history. Alia Bhatt became a brand. She went on signing films like Kapoor and Sons and Dear Zindagi, which required a lot from her. She never hesitated stepping out of her comfort zone, to get into the skin of the character. I still remember the scene from Highway, where she confesses that she doesn’t want to back home, to Mahavir. It goes on like this, “Jahan se tum mujhe laye ho, main wahan wapis nahi jana chahti..par yeh rasta bhot accha hai, main chahti hoon ki ye raasta kabhi khatam na ho”
Though she found her way into Bollywood through nepotism, but her hard work and her will to become an artist, brought her here. We’ve seen many actors come and go in Bollywood, but artists are rare. And Alia Bhatt is surely a piece of art; a director’s actor.
We wish you a very happy 25th birthday! May you deliver back to back hits for the years to come.
