Mahesh Bhatt on Alia’s career choices: She’s a formidable star, won’t mess it up by advising her

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt says that Alia Bhatt has astounded him by displaying the instinctive attraction she has for odd kind of narratives including films such as Udta Punjab, Highway and Raazi.

In his filmmaking career spanning almost four decades, Mahesh Bhatt has directed a little less than 75 films. And switch to his daughter Alia Bhatt, she seems to be on a signing spree, shooting one film after the other. Having started her career in 2012, Alia has already done 12 films, has finished shooting for one more [Gully Boys] and is shooting for two more [Brahmastra and Kalank] back to back.

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt doesn’t hesitate in calling his daughter Alia Bhatt, his masterpiece.

When we asked her dad if he has ever warned Alia to slow down, here’s what he has to say: “There is no map or compass that you can give to your loved ones in life. You make choices and arrive to certain conclusions with time. You can only tell your children that this is what I would do in a situation like this.”

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However, looking at Alia’s body of work including films such as Udta Punjab, Highway and Raazi, Mahesh feels that he doesn’t need to advise her on anything. “Alia is a formidable star. At a young age of 25, she has achieved amazing distinction in her field, where she has stalwarts applauding her talent. I don’t hesitate in saying that she is my masterpiece.”

Calling Alia a confident girl, Mahesh says that at no stage in her career, “Alia has ever had this kind of a doubt where she has come to me and said ‘papa or mummy, what should I do’.”

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However, recalling one off incident, he adds, “Only once I remember she came and told me that she has said no to a particular film which was with a very mighty banner and had a very big star. She asked me if she did the right thing. And I said, ‘if you have already done it, you knew it was the right thing, so don’t even tell me what it is’. And she smiled.”

Not one to listen to others, Mahesh wants daughter Alia also to follow the same. “The world is full of advises and everybody comes and tells you something but this [film industry] is one place where the future comes into operation only after you have created it. Your actions now will decide what the future will be,” he says.

Interact with Monika Rawal Kukreja at Twitter/@monikarawal