Mahesh Bhatt is suffering from ‘Alia withdrawals’ since she moved out of home

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt talks about the recent selfie that he took against his daughter, Alia Bhatt’s hoarding and how he misses her now that she has moved to a different house.

Remember the picture that actor Alia Bhatt instagrammed last week, of her father, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt taking a selfie with a hoarding of hers? One that went viral! Daddy Bhatt shares that the photo was an outcome of the separation pangs he’s been suffering ever since Alia moved from their Mumbai house into her own flat.

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt says he has separation pangs ever since daughter, actor Alia Bhatt, moved out. (Raajesh Kashyap/HT Photo)

“I noticed the hoarding with Alia on it when I landed at the Delhi airport on a freezing winter morning and thought to myself ‘Ah, that’s my little girl.’ And when I started to take the selfie, my friend Imran said he’ll take a better shot. That’s how it happened,” the 68-year-old told us on his recent visit to Delhi University. He added that he had immediately shared the photo with Alia, who then posted it online.

As for his daughter living on her own now, Bhatt misses her a lot. “I call that house Fairyland... When I messaged her, I wrote that maybe it’s the separation pangs that daddy is feeling, because I wake up in the morning and don’t find her in the house anymore. So I said, ‘Maybe I’m suffering from Alia withdrawals and this is my way to cope with it.’ She responded: ‘That’s so sweet Dad. This is the biggest gift.’ I guess it’s the warmth we shared that warmed people’s hearts... In this era of social media, whatever catches your heart, catches the heart of the people too.”