‘Actress banungi’: What eight-year-old Alia Bhatt told Suresh Oberoi

A throwback appearance on chat show 'Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai' shows eight-year-old Alia Bhatt declaring her ambition to become an actress. The episode also captures Shaheen Bhatt expressing her interest in writing rather than acting

Mumbai: One of Bollywood’s most bankable actresses, Alia Bhatt, has always had a clear picture of her future, and her throwback appearance on the popular chat show ‘Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai’ is proof of that.

When eight-year-old Alia accompanied her parents, Soni Razdan and Mahesh Bhatt, and her sisters, Pooja and Shaheen Bhatt, the filmmaker introduced his youngest daughter, saying, “Alia is aspiring to be an actress.” Next, Pooja introduced Shaheen, saying, “I am sure she is not remotely interested in being an actress.”

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Confirming this, Shaheen said, “Not at all.” When host Suresh Oberoi asked Shaheen if she wished to become a director, just like her father Mahesh Bhatt, she said she wanted to become a writer.

Pooja added that Alia was deeply interested in the film industry. When Suresh Oberoi again asked Alia what she wanted to become, she replied, “Actress banungi.”

Interestingly, both Alia and Shaheen went on to pursue the careers they had spoken about during the show.

Alia made her Bollywood debut in 2012 with Karan Johar’s ‘Student of the Year’. The film also marked the Bollywood debut of her co-stars Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra.

Since then, Alia has continued to prove her mettle as an actor with powerful performances in films such as ‘Highway’ (2014), ‘2 States’ (2014), ‘Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania’ (2014), ‘Kapoor & Sons’ (2016), ‘Dear Zindagi’ (2016), ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhania’ (2017), ‘Raazi’ (2018), ‘Gully Boy’ (2019), ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ (2022), ‘RRR’ (2022), ‘Darlings’ (2022), ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ (2023) and ‘Alpha’ (2026), among others.

Alia will next be seen sharing screen space with her husband, Ranbir Kapoor, and Vicky Kaushal in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming romantic drama, ‘Love & War’.