A decade of Alia Bhatt: One of the most talented actors working today, she can do it all

Let’s play a short version of the popular game, 20 questions. Who are you, when in your decade-old career, having done nearly 20 movies (cameos included), you have delivered critically acclaimed successes with only a handful of failures. The figure seems remarkable, considering the said arte has acted with new as well as experienced filmmakers, and has almost always passed with flying colours. The performer is also one of the most highly paid female actors in the country (as per multiple Forbes’ ls), and is consently spoken of in the media. The person is not only a proficient actor, but has also dabbled in some singing, and is now seeking to push frontiers as they cross over to Hollywood.

Yes, it’s Alia Bhatt who we are celebrating and discussing as she officially turns 10 in showbiz. Alia made her debut as a lead actor in Karan Johar’s teen drama Student of the Year (2012). A frivolous feature at best (Johar admitted as much in one of his episodes on chat show Koffee with Karan), and I thought, ‘well, this is not going to last long if she doesn’t make more interesting choices.’ But Bhatt was barely 17 when she was shooting the big Dharma film with its ostentatious sets and loud, catchy songs.

Clearly, she has come a long way since then. In a relatively short period of time, Alia has shown off her acting chops with great instincts and creativity, lending her to be the bonafide movie star that she is today. In fact, only two years after her first movie, she featured as a child abuse survivor who develops a relationship with her kidnapper in Imtiaz Ali’s Highway. The scene in which she confronts her parents and her abuser in the living room of her home still stings. Alia Bhatt then did two commercial Hindi films consecutively, 2 States and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, where she played to the gallery. She was the cute, sassy girl-next-door. And again a couple of years later, she changed things up appearing in Abhishek Chaubey’s critically acclaimed Udta Punjab as a Bihari migrant in Punjab and Gauri Shinde’s reflective Dear Zindagi, about a young woman struggling with mental health issues.
Alia Bhatt and Shah Rukh Khan in Dear Zindagi.
In an interview with Mid-day, Alia had shared that Abhishek didn’t really see the actor as a woman coming from rural Bihar, and was therefore a bit hesitant to cast her in the part. Despite a little criticism, Alia mostly won over the crowd with her skills, as she not only adapted to the body language of a Bihari and how they speak, but managed to emotionally connect with the viewers while inhabiting the skin of Bauria. Here’s some trivia for Alia fans: Did you know that ace actor Pankaj Tripathi was Alia’s dialect coach for the role?

From 2017-2019, Alia was seen in Badrinath Ki Dulhania, Raazi, Gully Boy and Kalank. Kalank was a dud, and Badrinath, much like its prequel, was a commercial fest. But in Raazi and Gully Boy (more so in the former), Alia played her part with courage, conviction and vulnerability; perhaps an indication of both her growth as an arte and as an adult who is willing to learn, is constantly curious. Alia was in stupendous form in Raazi, leading the movie (along with very capable writer-director and supporting cast) to a surprise box office success and deserved critical acclaim. Playing the role of a spy, who is caught up between love, filial duty and loyalty, Alia was a sight to behold and her sequences with Vicky Kaushal were achingly good.

In 2020, she was seen in yet another forgettable feature as she was directed father-filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt in Sadak 2. However, two years on, Alia has redeemed herself (at the box office at least), with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi and Ayan Mukerji’s fantastical Brahmastra. And then there was the Shah Rukh Khan and Netflix backed, deliciously raw Darlings on domestic violence, where Alia reminded her fans what a brilliant actor she can be when she gets something meaty.
Alia Bhatt’s career arc in her ten-year journey has mostly been marked an upward trend, as she now gets ready to promote her debut Hollywood movie, Heart of Stone, alongside Hollywood stars Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan. Clearly, Alia is one of the most exciting actors working today.