Alia Bhatt: Dominating Bollywood With Blockbusters, Hollywood Debut And Motherhood

I remember meeting a heavily pregnant Alia Bhatt in 2022, as she was wrapping the promotions of Darlingss... and I asked whether we should dedicate 2022 to her. She responded with a cheeky reply. "Yes, I will take that, it is good to have a year."

Two years later, we may as well hand over the decade to her. From the mega success of Rocky Rani Ki Prem Kahani in 2023 to her Hollywood debut with Heart of Stone, the talented actor is also the face of India for international brands.

The actor returns to screens as the sister on a mission to rescue her brother Vedang Raina in Vasan Bala's action thriller Jigra.

She says it would be sad to be defined as an actor, but trade analysts are unanimous when they say she is the only female actor with a 99 percent success rate when it comes to the box office as well as digital platforms.

"She is the only female actor with successful box office returns, as well as one who gets genuine critical acclaim. One just has to see her choice of films from her first film Student of the Year which was a typical glam role, and then with her performances in Highway and Udta Punjab, she proved to the audience that she will toe the line between mainstream and art house cinema with superlative performances. She consolidated her position as an actress who can carry the entire film on her shoulders with 2018 hit Raazi", she showcased her acting genius and proved her box office might." says movie trade analyst Girish Wankhede.

In 2022 with the resounding success of Gangubai Kathiawadi for which she also won the national award. Alia proved the fallacy wrong that female-led films don't generate revenue.

Her director Vasan Bala calls her an actor who is fiercely protective towards her craft but asks Alia what's the secret to her success, she credits it to her directors.
"I owe it to my directors and am fortunate to have gone to the films that I have. When I get a script, I read it like an audience, and then think about myself. I am not trying to be modest here, but I am very lucky. Luck has played a large part as well, in me to get the opportunities to play the parts I have. Even though I may be a co-producer on Jigra, when I am on set I am like a director's puppet who gives into their vision entirely. For me, the journey of an actor and director is very important, and honestly whatever the fate of Jigra, I am happy about the way Vasan and I synced on this project. My philosophy is to keep my head down and keep working, there is no other mantra to success."

The enterprising actor turned producer with Darlings and launched her production house, "Eternal Sunshine". Lending her name to the critically acclaimed Poachers and has also co-produced Jigra. Filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh calls the industry fortunate to be living in the times of Alia Bhatt.

"The superstar that she is, it is a treat for the crew to watch her perform. She gets what you want and is willing to innovate and go beyond, " says Vasan Bala.

Girish Wankhade reiterates the same, "She is one of the actors who is known to experiment with her characters. She is one of those mainstream actors who does socially relevant films, plays titular characters and on the other hand, seamlessly does the masala potboiler movies as well. She can sail and navigate both boats effortlessly".

Jigra being the first film Alia had signed on post the birth of daughter Raha in November 2022, says," I could relate to the sentiment since this whole aspect of protection was oozing out of me. But what truly drew me to this story was that it was not only a unique brother-sister story, which was emotionally layered but told entertainingly."

Alia and her husband Ranbir's current winning streak at the box office makes them one of the sought-after couples in Tinsel Town. Post the success of their 2022 film Brahmastra, the couple are all set to collaborate on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's. Love and War in 2025. As the internet compared her high-octane action avatar to her husband Ranbir's bloody action flick Animal, Alia says there is no comparison nor competition between the two. "I am very fortunate that my husband (Ranbir) is first my best friend and secondly, a wonderful actor. Whether it was Gangubai, Rocky Aur Rani, and now Jigra, the moments I cherish the most are how effortlessly I can discuss work, as well as scenes with him. If I am stuck or trying something new, we can discuss it with each other. There are no similarities between Jigra and Animal, except they follow the theme of protecting the one you care for."

When asked which film of hers would she like her daughter Raha to watch first, Alia confesses she is uncertain." It's a very important decision to make. The first song of ours she heard was Kesariya. But, just the other day we showed her the first song I ever shot, which was "Radha " from Student of the Year. Alongside we also played Ranbir's Badtameez Dil. She is 2 years old and we have just about started showing her a bit of the songs both of us have done, she must be thinking this is quite the normal thing."Alia answered, further adding that her daughter quite enjoys listening to Naatu Naatu from RRR too.

Alia will be next seen in YRF's Alpha, becoming the first female headlining the spy verse. The film will hit screens on 25th December 2025.