Bollywood Star Alia Bhatt, the 30-year-old, has made waves in India and on the global stage. Born into a Bollywood family, with a filmmaker father (Mahesh Bhatt) and an actress mother (Soni Razdan), Alia has become a megastar in the Indian film industry. Her superstar appeal is undeniable, and she’s one of the hottest names out there.
Last year, Bollywood Star Alia Bhatt made her Hollywood debut, introducing herself to a global audience.
Now, she’s backing a new drama series about wildlife crime.
“People have the power to make a difference, whether in this industry or any other,” Bollywood Star Alia Bhatt tells BBC News.
Bhatt was born into a Bollywood family to a filmmaker father, Mahesh Bhatt, and an actress mother, Soni Razdan.
Razdan was born in Birmingham, England, and Bhatt, though born in India, describes herself as British.
In an interview with Wired last year, she answered the most googled questions about her, one of which was: “Is she British?” Bhatt responded with a resounding yes.
Bollywood Star Alia Bhatt had her first leading role at 18 and has starred in dozens of Hindi films since then.
She lives in Mumbai with her actor husband, Ranbir Kapoor, and their one-year-old daughter.
The pair are one of Bollywood’s power couples. It’s an industry that family dynasties have always ruled.
Bollywood Star Alia Bhatt starred in the romantic comedy film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, a smash hit at the box office. Additionally, she appeared alongside Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan in Netflix’s Heart of Stone. While the latter received mixed reviews, it marked her entry into Hollywood.
Weeks later, she appeared alongside Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot and 50 Shades actor Jamie Dornan in Netflix’s Heart of Stone, which got mixed reviews.
Alia Bhatt is not the first Bollywood star to venture into Hollywood. Priyanka Chopra has also made her mark internationally. However, some Bollywood icons, like Shah Rukh Khan, have chosen to focus solely on their Indian fan base.
Bhatt, an animal lover, was asked by its director, Richie Mehta, to get involved in the series.
“He showed me a couple of episodes, and I wanted more,” she says. “I’m just a lover of cinema or content in general that has the power to influence and really move you emotionally and physically.”
Recently, Alia has been executive producing a new crime drama series called Poacher. Based on actual events, the series sheds light on the giant ivory poaching ring in India. Despite a worldwide ban on ivory sales since 1989, elephant poaching remains a significant problem globally. Alia’s involvement in this project reflects her commitment to making a difference in the entertainment industry and beyond.
This is not the first time Bhatt has lent her voice to the cause of sustainability and conservation.
She launched her sustainable clothing brand and last year; she earned praise for re-wearing her wedding saree. She has also championed animal welfare before.
“We have to somehow as a society create our own conscience, things we want to passionately speak about, passionately support,” she says.
“I’ve always said I don’t have the answers but I have the questions,” she adds. “I’m not saying I do everything right, but there’s something within me that wants to know more.”
In Poacher’s opening scene, an elephant is shot dead, killed for its tusks.
It’s “upsetting” to watch, admits Bhatt. “But it should be upsetting, that’s when the stakes become really high.”
Mehta, an Emmy Award-winning director, adds that this is an international problem, affecting the UK too.
“If you pass through Heathrow Airport, when you’re waiting at customs, you see signs of what they’ve seized, the contraband they’ve seized. And it’s immense. It’s happening all the time,” he says.
Bollywood, India’s hugely popular Hindi film industry, produces hundreds of movies yearly and has a massive following among Indians globally. The sway the films and the stars have on their fans’ imaginations cannot be overstated.
But it is often described as a man’s world.
It’s something that’s been talked about for a long time, with a study last year showing just how little gender equality there is – both on and off-screen.
Over the years, many Bollywood films have been criticised for being regressive, promoting misogyny and gender biases.
Bollywood Star Alia Bhatt, who has made a career out of playing various troubled women – from a sex worker to a kidnapping victim – is keen to stress things are changing when it comes to representation in Bollywood.
Bollywood Star Alia Bhatt points to Poacher, which has a female protagonist, a forest officer called Mala Jogi, at the heart of its story.
Mala – played by Nimisha Sajayan – didn’t exist in real life, but Mehta added her in when writing the series.
“So here we have Nimisha at the heart of the show playing Mala Jogi, being absolutely outstanding, heroic, and doing all those things you’d see a man do, which you’re seeing a woman doing the same thing,” says Bollywood Star Alia Bhatt.
As for Bollywood Star Alia Bhatt, she has often been described as a trailblazer for up-and-coming young women in Bollywood and beyond.
“I would like to lead by example,” Bollywood Star Alia Bhatt says, “and be led by example, like we have been in this case.”
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Alia Bhatt’s journey from Bollywood to Hollywood exemplifies the power of talent and determination. Whether in the film industry or any other field, she believes people can create positive change.
