How did the youngest child of a filmi family develop such an independent streak? “You know, from a very young age, I would go on long-distance trips with my friends. We’d be by ourselves, so I learnt to handle different kinds of situations fairly early on. I have always been very independent and I find that my experiences help me now. Especially since our profession requires so much travel, I find that it holds me in good stead,” Alia says.
While she may seem fragile and uber-feminine on screen and when she makes appearances at events, Alia tells us that she is actually quite the tomboy. “I’m not your typical girly girl,” she says, admitting that it is a professional requirement to take care of her looks. “I’m getting there though,” she adds, “I’m working on my look… At heart though, I’m quite the tomboy. I dress like one — I even use men’s fragrances! My profession demands that I look stylish, but then comes a film like Highway where I hardly have any make-up on, and that makes for a nice change.”
Alia’s attitude may seem quite at odds with the requirements of the industry she is part of, but the actress says that being down-to-earth and extremely “regular” was something that was instilled in her since childhood. “My parents never encouraged my visiting their sets,” she recounts. “So I had a very normal upbringing. However, I knew, even as a child, that I wanted to be a star someday.”
On Sunday, Alia discusses her film choices with her father, Mahesh Bhatt. “Dad was always busy making films when we were little, so I hardly spent any time with him. Since I didn’t visit his sets, there were times when I missed his presence. But now he has some time so we have long chats and he advises me how to handle life, films and most importantly — rumours about link-ups!” Alia says.
The advice must come in handy since Alia has had her fair share of link-up rumours. After Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra, it is now Arjun Kapoor she is being linked with. “Look, Arjun is sweet, very good looking and has a great sense of humour. I enjoy being with him — but that does not mean I’m dating him,” Alia asserts. “People can think whatever they want, write whatever they want. My personal life is my space and I will not clarify or talk about that aspect of my life.”
The only person who has “full access” to Alia’s mind and heart is her elder sister Shaheen. It is Shaheen who is Alia’s closest confidante. “Shaheen knows everything about me, she’s like my diary. She knows about all my boyfriends, heartbreaks, affairs — all my personal stuff,” Alia admits.
Coming back to matters related to work, doesn’t Alia ever feel that she missed out on attending college and other fun stuff during her teenage years as she debuted in Bollywood when she was only 19? “No, I think it’s a good thing that I joined the industry early,” says Alia. “I have age on my side. I can experiment with roles and my clothes, which I wouldn’t have been able to do had I been older. I would say I’m at the right place at the right time.”
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