‘My mum is the captain of my ship’

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Alia Bhatt with the Student Of The Year team

A petite young girl makes her foray into Bollywood. And who should be directing the project — Student Of The Year — but the largescale-luxury format film maker Karan Johar? Yet I notice a distinct sense of quiet confidence and a sense of nonchalance towards it all in the young artiste.

Maybe it comes from the fact that she was a child artiste in her father’s film Sangarsh. “No,” she corrects me vociferously, “That was a long time ago,” says Alia Bhatt.
“A bit of movie experience might, however, be just a tiny part responsible for the confidence. The main reason for it all is my mother, Soni Razdan. She’s not just my mother but my strength, the reason I can be so self-assured. My values and principles come from her. I feel awful when I lose my temper and tell her to keep quiet- she is the most understanding person in my life,” Alia says. Her eyes flash with the intensity of her bond with the ‘Captain’ of her ship, as we sip cold coffee on her tropical veranda crammed with indoor trees and home warmth. The connection between mother and daughter is obviously very intense. Obviously, the wind beneath Alia’s wings is her mother Soni who was also a talented actor in her own right.
In a scenario of ‘Tiger Moms’ who officiously mastermind their children’s every move, what makes Soni a mother who gives space to her daughter? She says my family is so opinionated, but my mother is the only one who thinks and empathises before giving an opinion. I think the first thing my mother does is to put herself in my shoes. If I get irritable she lets it pass, walks away, without letting her ego come in the way. I learn from her, I have seen the way she handles her relationships with dignity. She is my beacon and I hope to learn more from her.” What about Alia’s film-maker father Mahesh Bhatt? “Yes, my father has a strong opinion on everything but he looks at the overall situation. He’s always encouraged me to be myself, be stupid than pretend to be intelligent. Very few people are encouraged to be themselves, and not politically correct. I am brought up not to be correct but to be real and honest. My father has taught me not to give respect to anyone else at the cost of myself. This is one of the most important things I’ve learned from him. But it is my mother who goes into the detail and has guided me. She not only knows everything in my life but also in my cupboard,” says Alia.
“She is so proud of me, she won’t say anything, but I can see it in her eyes, in her smile and it inspires me to be who I am, to strive, to grow.”
It all sounds too perfect and I’m wondering if there are no regular pow-wows and arguments? Can life be so perfect? “Of course the occasional misunderstanding occurs, but one of us becomes a navigator in an argument. All of us don’t like to be upset beyond a few minutes. We love each other too much to stand on ego and not get over it. When fights do happen, there is no sulking, no long term anger, and no tantrums.”
Last Friday I was delighted to see Alia’s effortless fluid rendition as exuberant, bouncy teen Shanaya making love to the camera with her inherent charm. How does she see herself navigating the high expectations? “My confidence, my decisions, my performance, it’s my mother’s influence. She’s always told me ‘Less is more’. “Don’t do a great gesture, but the smallest thing matters” she’d say. When you’re climbing the ladder of success, you can get lost, you forget who you were, and you become someone who is in the limelight. The moment you start believing the aura of stardom you become someone you aren’t. Luckily that’s not possible in my home, with my mother, who always keeps me grounded.”