Alia Bhatt Biography – a British Actress of Indian Descent
Alia Bhatt is a British actress of Indian descent who predominantly works in Hindi films. Known for her portrayals of women in troubling circumstances, she has received several accolades including four Filmfare Awards.
| Quick Info→ | |
|---|---|
| Real Name: | Alia Bhatt |
| Profession: | Indian actress |
| Birthplace: | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Spouse: | Ranbir Kapoor |
| Age: | 30 |
Alia Bhatt (born 15 March 1993) is a British actress of Indian descent who predominantly works in Hindi films. Known for her portrayals of women in troubling circumstances, she has received several accolades including 4 Filmfare Awards. One of India’s highest-paid actresses, she has appeared in Forbes India‘s Celebrity 100 list since 2014 and was awarded the TIME100 Impact Award in 2022.
Born into the Bhatt family, she is the daughter of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and actress Soni Razdan. After making her acting debut as a child in the 1999 thriller Sangharsh, she played her first leading role in Karan Johar‘s teen film Student of the Year (2012). She won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress for playing a kidnapping victim in the road drama Highway (2014) and went on to establish herself with starring roles in several romantic films produced by Johar’s studio Dharma Productions.
Bhatt won three Filmfare Awards for Best Actress for playing a victim of drug abuse in the crime drama Udta Punjab (2016), an undercover spy in the thriller Raazi (2018), and a possessive girlfriend in the musical drama Gully Boy (2019). Following two poorly received films, she gained praise for playing the titular role in the biopic Gangubai Kathiawadi, had a brief role in the period film RRR, and starred in the fantasy film Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva, all of which rank among the top-grossing Indian films of 2022.
In addition to acting, Bhatt has launched her own sustainable clothing brand and an ecological initiative. She supports various charities and is an investor and prominent brand endorser. She has sung seven of her film songs, including the single “Samjhawan Unplugged” in 2014. Bhatt is married to the actor Ranbir Kapoor, with whom she has a daughter.
|
Alia Bhatt Biography
|
|
|---|---|
| Born | 15 March 1993 |
| Citizenship | British |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Works | Full list |
| Spouse |
Ranbir Kapoor (m. 2022)
|
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Mahesh Bhatt (father) Soni Razdan (mother) |
| Relatives | Bhatt family Kapoor family (by marriage) |
| Awards | Full list |
Table of Contents
Early life and background (Alia Bhatt Biography)
Alia Bhatt was born on 15 March 1993 into the Bhatt family to Indian film director Mahesh Bhatt and actress Soni Razdan. Her father is of Gujarati descent and her mother is of Kashmiri Pandit and British German ancestry. She holds British citizenship. She has an elder sister, Shaheen, and two half-siblings, Pooja and Rahul Bhatt. Actor Emraan Hashmi and director Mohit Suri are her paternal cousins, while producer Mukesh Bhatt is her uncle. She was educated at the Jamnabai Narsee School but dropped out of her twelfth grade to pursue acting.
Describing her childhood, Bhatt has said, “I had a rather grounded and modest upbringing. I didn’t get the pleasures that people assume I would’ve got because I am Mahesh Bhatt‘s daughter.” Growing up, she did not share a close bond with her father; Razdan has said that she raised her children mostly as a single parent as her husband did not take much interest in their lives. Bhatt has said that as a child, she “didn’t miss him as such because I did not really have him”, adding that they developed a closer bond only when she became an actress.
Bhatt aspired to act from a young age and has said that she first realized it while rehearsing for the school choir in kindergarten. She soon began dance lessons at Shiamak Davar’s institute. Her first acting role was at age five in her father’s production venture Sangharsh (1999), in which she briefly played the younger version of Preity Zinta‘s character. Talking about her experience, she later remarked, “I don’t remember much of the shoot. I would go to the sets only for the food”. At age nine, she auditioned for a role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s film Black (2005) but did not get the part. Three years later, Bhansali cast a then-12-year-old Bhatt opposite a then-20-year-old Ranbir Kapoor to make their debut in his film Balika Vadhu, but the film was shelved.
Career (Alia Bhatt Biography)
Early work (2012–2015)
Bhatt had her first leading role in 2012 with Karan Johar’s teen film Student of the Year, alongside newcomers Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan. She auditioned alongside 500 girls and was cast after losing 16 kg (35 lb). She played a sophisticated teenage girl involved in a love triangle. Anupama Chopra of Hindustan Times mentioned similarities between her character and Kareena Kapoor‘s role in Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham… (2001), but noted that her performance was “without the killer attitude”. Lisa Tsering of The Hollywood Reporter dismissed her as “a washout. Not only is she inelegant in the dance numbers, but her expressions are limited, and the digital retouching of her face throughout the film is a distraction”. The film grossed ₹960 million (US$12 million) at the box office, becoming a commercial success.
Continuing her collaboration with Johar’s company, Dharma Productions, Bhatt starred in the romantic films 2 States and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (both 2014). The former was an adaptation of Chetan Bhagat‘s novel of the same name and is about two management students who have trouble convincing their parents of their relationship. For her role as a headstrong Tamil girl, she learned to speak her lines in Tamil with help from a tutor. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express was appreciative of Bhatt, labeling her a “surprise” and “easy and fresh and natural”. She played the titular Punjabi girl who has an affair before her wedding with a flirtatious Punjabi boy, Rakesh, in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, directed by Shashank Khaitan, which was described as a tribute to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) by Johar. Writing for India Today, Rohit Khilnani thought that Bhatt had pitched in “one of her best performances so far”, though Nandini Ramnath of Mint found her lacking in subtlety, writing that she was “more comfortable acting out her feelings through dialogue and actions”. Both films were commercially successful, each earning over ₹1 billion (US$13 million) worldwide. Her accomplishments in 2014 established her career.
Bhatt reunited with Bahl for the romantic comedy Shaandaar. Released in 2015, the film features Shahid Kapoor and Bhatt as insomniacs who fall in love during a destination wedding. Kunal Guha of Mumbai Mirror criticized the film and wrote that Bhatt “socks life into her character but fails to pump any into this film”. The film did not perform well commercially.
Career progression (2016–2021)
Bhatt began 2016 with a supporting role in Shakun Batra’s ensemble drama Kapoor & Sons, starring alongside Malhotra and Fawad Khan, which was a critical and commercial success. She next took on the part of a poor Bihari migrant in Udta Punjab (2016), a crime drama about substance abuse by writer-director Abhishek Chaubey. The intense role marked a departure from the mostly light-hearted parts she had played before, and in preparation, she watched documentaries on drug abuse and learned to speak a Bihari dialect. The film generated controversy when the Central Board of Film Certification deemed that it represented Punjab in a negative light and demanded extensive censorship before its release. The Bombay High Court later cleared the film for exhibition with one scene cut. Bhatt’s performance was critically acclaimed. Raja Sen of Rediff.com wrote that she “commits to her accent and deals with the film’s most unsavory section, and is stunning during an incendiary speech that elevates the entire film to a whole other level.” She next played a troubled young woman who consults with a therapist (played by Shah Rukh Khan) in Gauri Shinde’s coming-of-age film Dear Zindagi (2016). Writing for IndieWire, Anisha Jhaveri commended her for providing millennial angst with “a three-dimensionality”. Udta Punjab and Dear Zindagi gained Bhatt awards attention; for the former, she won the Screen Award and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress, and for the latter, she received an additional Best Actress nomination at Filmfare.
The ensemble period drama Kalank (2019) marked Bhatt’s biggest-budget film to that point. Set in the 1940s prior to the partition of India, it featured Dhawan and her as star-crossed lovers. She watched the films Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and Umrao Jaan (1981) to learn the body language of women from the era; to better her Urdu-speaking skills, she watched the Pakistani television series Zindagi Gulzar Hai. Shubhra Gupta bemoaned that she was “watchable, if increasingly, exasperatingly familiar”. The film did not perform well at the box office. Bhatt next starred in Sadak 2 (2020), a sequel to her father’s crime film Sadak (1991), which due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India could not be released theatrically and instead streamed on Disney+ Hotstar. The death of Sushant Singh Rajput sparked a debate on nepotism in the Hindi film industry; his fans blamed Bhatt for being one of the beneficiaries of nepotism and for once speaking dismissively of Rajput on Johar’s chat show Koffee with Karan. This led to vote brigading on the film’s trailer on YouTube, on which it became the second most-disliked video. The film received negative reviews, and Pallabi Dey Purkayastha of The Times of India dismissed Bhatt’s performance “by her own high standards” to be “strictly average”.
Established actress (2022–present)
The year 2022 was key for Bhatt. She portrayed the titular prostitute in Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s biopic Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022), which premiered at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival. In preparation, she studied the work of actress Meena Kumari and watched films about prostitution such as Mandi (1983) and Memoirs of a Geisha (2005). Commenting on media speculation that she had been miscast in such an assertive part, Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV opined that “the actress puts all doubts to rest with a marvelously lively performance”. Additionally, Stutee Ghosh of The Quint commended her for playing the part with a “rare mix of innocence and jaw-clenching seething anger”. It emerged as her third release to gross over ₹2 billion (US$25 million) worldwide. The Guardian featured her portrayal in their listing of the best big-screen performances of all time. She received another Best Actress nomination at Filmfare.
Bhatt will next reunite with Johar in his directorial, the romantic comedy Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, co-starring Ranveer Singh. Filming and release were delayed by a few months due to her pregnancy. She will also appear alongside Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan in the Netflix spy film Heart of Stone, which will mark her first Hollywood film release.
Other work (Alia Bhatt Biography)
Bhatt performed playback singing for the song “Sooha Saaha” in Highway (2014). A. R. Rahman, the composer of the film, invited her to his music school to undergo training. In 2014, she sang the unplugged version of the song “Samjhawan”, for the composer Sharib-Toshi, in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. In 2016, she sang an alternate version of the song “Ikk Kudi”, for the soundtrack of Udta Punjab, with her co-star Dosanjh.
Bhatt has performed on stage at the Filmfare, Screen, and Stardust award ceremonies, and has also participated in a stage show in Hong Kong alongside Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra. In 2013, she performed at a charity event with Dhawan, Malhotra, Aditya Roy Kapur, Shraddha Kapoor, and Huma Qureshi to raise funds for the flood-affected victims of Uttarakhand. In August 2016, she performed in various cities in America for the “Dream Team 2016” tour, alongside Johar, the actors Dhawan, Malhotra, Roy Kapur, Katrina Kaif, Parineeti Chopra, and the singer Badshah.
Bhatt designed her own clothing line for women in 2014 for the online fashion portal Jabong.com and in 2018, she launched her own line of handbags for VIP Industries. She is also an investor in the beauty company Nykaa and in India’s first biomaterial startup Phool.co. In 2022, she launched her own sustainable maternity and children’s clothing brand, named Ed-a-Mamma.
Personal life (Alia Bhatt Biography)
Bhatt has frequently combated negative attention, including online trolling, for being a beneficiary of nepotism within the Hindi film industry. When asked about how she deals with it, she said, “Of course, I felt bad. But feeling bad is a small price to pay for the work that you are respected and loved for.” During an appearance on the talk show Koffee with Karan in 2014, Bhatt incorrectly named Prithviraj Chauhan as the President of India. This led to widespread trolling of Bhatt’s IQ, which journalist Malavika Sangghvi described as an extension of the dumb blonde stereotype. Bhatt countered this by acting in a satirical YouTube video for All India Bakchod, named Alia Bhatt – Genius of the Year. Sangghvi noted that by making fun of herself, Bhatt had “managed to counter all her critics and, in fact, endear herself to them”.
Early in her career, Bhatt was reluctant to discuss her personal life, stating that she would never publicly talk about her relationships. Despite media speculation, she did not speak about dating actor Sidharth Malhotra, but spoke fondly about their bond in 2019, after they had broken up. In 2018, Ranbir Kapoor, her co-star in Brahmāstra, revealed that he and Bhatt were dating. They married on 14 April 2022 in a traditional Hindu ceremony at their apartment in Mumbai. In November of that year, she gave birth to their daughter Raha. As of 2022, Bhatt lives primarily in Mumbai and also has a home in London.
Media image (Alia Bhatt Biography)
The writer Sucharita Tyagi describes Bhatt’s personality as “funny, endearing, silly, and unapologetic”. The journalist Raja Sen, in 2022, described Bhatt as “petite compared to her contemporaries” and wrote that “she embraces her girlishness and diminutive size because she likes astonishing those who may write her off as too young to play a certain character, or too small to take over a screen”. Suhani Singh of India Today has said that despite her petite frame, she “can appear larger than life on screen”.
Forbes Asia has featured Bhatt in their 30 Under 30 list of 2017 and in their 100 Digital Stars list of 2020. She has appeared in Forbes India‘s Celebrity 100 list since 2014, peaking at the eighth position in 2019. That year, the magazine estimated her annual income to be ₹592 million (US$7.4 million) and listed her as the highest-paid actress in the country. In 2018 and 2019, the Indian edition of GQ featured her among the nation’s 50 most influential young people and credited her for “striking a balance between big-budget, all-star blowouts, and more script-oriented films”. Bhatt was listed in first place in The Times of India‘s “50 Most Desirable Women” list of 2018, and she was named the “Sexiest Asian Woman” by the UK magazine Eastern Eye in 2019. Also in 2018, the market research firm YouGov named her India’s ninth most influential celebrity. The magazine Femina has featured her in listings of women achievers in 2019 and 2021. In 2022 and 2023, she was featured in The Indian Express‘s listing of the most powerful Indians. Also in 2022, Time magazine awarded her with the TIME100 Impact Award.
Bhatt is a celebrity endorser for a number of brands and products, including Coca-Cola, Garnier, and Maybelline. Duff & Phelps estimated her brand value to be US$36.5 million, in 2019, the eighth-highest of Indian celebrities. She occupied the seventh and sixth positions in the next two years, respectively, and in 2022, she peaked in the fourth position, with a brand value of US$68.1 million.
Filmography (Alia Bhatt Biography)
Films
 |
Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Sangharsh | Young Reet Oberoi | |
| 2012 | Student of the Year | Shanaya Singhania | |
| 2014 | Highway | Veera Tripathi | |
| 2 States | Ananya Swaminathan | ||
| Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania | Kavya Pratap Singh | ||
| Ugly | Young Shalini | Cameo | |
| Going Home | Herself | Short film | |
| 2015 | Shaandaar | Alia Arora | |
| 2016 | Kapoor & Sons | Tia Malik | |
| Udta Punjab | Mary Jane | ||
| Ae Dil Hai Mushkil | DJ | Cameo | |
| Dear Zindagi | Kaira | ||
| 2017 | Badrinath Ki Dulhania | Vaidehi Trivedi | |
| 2018 | Raazi | Sehmat Khan | |
| Zero | Herself | Cameo | |
| 2019 | Gully Boy | Safina Firdausi | |
| Kalank | Roop | ||
| Student of the Year 2 | Herself | Special appearance in song “The Hook Up Song” | |
| 2020 | Sadak 2 | Aarya Desai | |
| 2022 | Gangubai Kathiawadi | Gangubai Kathiawadi | |
| RRR | Sita | Telugu film | |
| Darlings | Badru Qureshi | Also producer | |
| Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva | Isha | ||
| 2023 | Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani |
Rani | Post-production |
| Heart of Stone |
Keya Dhawan | American film; post-production |
Music videos (Alia Bhatt Biography)
| Year | Title | Performers |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | “Prada” | The Doorbeen, Shreya Sharma |
| “Smile Deke Dekho” | Amit Trivedi, Sunidhi Chauhan, Nakash Aziz | |
| 2020 | “Kudi Nu Nachne De” | Vishal Dadlani, Sachin–Jigar |
Discography (Alia Bhatt Biography)
| Year | Track | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | “Sooha Saha” | Highway |
| “Samjhawan Unplugged” | Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania | |
| 2016 | “Ikk Kudi (Club Mix)” | Udta Punjab |
| “Love You Zindagi (Club Mix)” | Dear Zindagi | |
| “Ae Zindagi Gale Laga Le – 2” | ||
| 2017 | “Humsafar (Alia’s version)” | Badrinath Ki Dulhania |
| 2020 | “Tum Se Hi (Reprise)” | Sadak 2 |
Awards and Nominations
Film awards (Alia Bhatt Biography)
| Award | Year | Film | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIG Star Entertainment Awards | 2015 | Highway | Most Entertaining Actor in a Social / Drama Film – Female | Nominated |
| 2 States | Most Entertaining Jodi of the Year | Won | ||
| Most Entertaining Actor in a Romantic Film – Female | Won | |||
| Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania | Most Entertaining Actor in a Romantic Film – Female | Nominated | ||
| — | Star Plus Entertainer of the Year | Won | ||
| Bollywood Hungama Style Icons | 2023 | — | Most Stylish Social Warrior | Nominated |
| — | Most Stylish Iconic Performer (Female) | Nominated | ||
| Filmfare Awards | 2013 | Student of the Year | Best Female Debut | Nominated |
| 2015 | Highway | Best Actress | Nominated | |
| Best Actress (Critics) | Won | |||
| 2017 | Udta Punjab | Best Actress | Won | |
| Dear Zindagi | Best Actress | Nominated | ||
| 2018 | Badrinath Ki Dulhania | Best Actress | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Raazi | Best Actress | Won | |
| Best Actress (Critics) | Nominated | |||
| 2020 | Gully Boy | Best Actress | Won | |
| Hollywood Critics Association | 2023 | RRR | Spotlight Award | Won |
| Indian Film Festival of Melbourne | 2019 | Raazi | Best Actress | Nominated |
| Indian Television Academy Awards | 2022 | — | Best Actress of the Decade | Won |
| International Indian Film Academy Awards | 2015 | 2 States | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Nominated |
| 2017 | Udta Punjab | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Won | |
| Dear Zindagi | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Nominated | ||
| — | Myntra Style Icon Award | Won | ||
| 2018 | Badrinath Ki Dulhania | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Raazi | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Won | |
| 2020 | Gully Boy | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Won | |
| 2023 | Gangubai Kathiawadi | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Pending | |
| Darlings | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Pending | ||
| Lions Gold Awards | 2013 | Student of the Year | Favorite Debut Actress | Won |
| Mirchi Music Awards | 2015 | — | Royal Stag Make It Large Award | Won |
| Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards India | 2016 | — | Jodi Kamaal Ki (shared with Varun Dhawan) | Won |
| 2018 | Badrinath Ki Dulhania | Best Actor (Female) | Won | |
| 2019 | Raazi | Favorite Movie Actor (Female) | Won | |
| 2020 | Gully Boy | Favorite Movie Actor (Female) | Nominated | |
| People’s Choice Awards | 2019 | — | The Most Inspiring Asian Woman of 2019 | Nominated |
| Screen Awards | 2013 | Student of the Year | Most Promising Newcomer – Female | Nominated |
| 2015 | Highway | Best Actress | Nominated | |
| 2 States | Best Actress (Popular Choice) | Nominated | ||
| — | Life ok Hero (female) | Won | ||
| 2017 | Udta Punjab | Best Actress | Won | |
| Dear Zindagi | Best Actress | Nominated | ||
| — | Star Plus Ki Nai Soch Award | Won | ||
| 2018 | Badrinath Ki Dulhania | Best Actor – Female (Popular) | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Raazi | Best Actress | Won | |
| 2020 | Gully Boy | Best Actress | Won | |
| Star Guild Awards | 2013 | Student of the Year | Best Female Debut | Nominated |
| 2015 | Highway | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Nominated | |
| — | Gionee Most Stylish Youth Icon (Special Award) | Won | ||
| Stardust Awards | 2013 | Student of the Year | Superstar of Tomorrow – Female | Nominated |
| 2015 | Highway | Superstar of Tomorrow – Female | Won | |
| Best Actress | Nominated | |||
| Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania | Best Actress – Comedy/Romance | Won | ||
| 2017 | Udta Punjab | Performer of the Year (Female) | Nominated | |
| Dear Zindagi | Performer of the Year (Female) | Nominated | ||
| Times of India Film Awards | 2013 | Student of the Year | Best Female Debut | Nominated |
| Zee Cine Awards | 2013 | Student of the Year | Best Female Debut | Nominated |
| 2017 | Udta Punjab | Best Actor – Female | Won | |
| Dear Zindagi | Best Actor – Female | Nominated | ||
| 2018 | Badrinath Ki Dulhania | Best Actor – Female (Viewer’s Choice) | Won | |
| Best Actor – Female (Jury’s Choice) | Nominated | |||
| 2019 | Raazi | Best Actor – Female (Viewers’ Choice) | Won | |
| 2020 | Gully Boy | Best Actor – Female (Viewers’ Choice) | Won | |
| 2023 | Gangubai Kathiawadi | Best Actress – Female (Jury’s) | Won | |
| Darlings | Best Actor – Female (Viewers’ Choice) | Won |
Other awards and recognition
- 2017 – Forbes 30 Under 30
For her role in Highway (2014), Bhatt won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress. She also received the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her roles in Udta Punjab (2016), Raazi (2018), and Gully Boy (2019).
