BHATT BRAND A NEW SHEEN’

The famous father of a famous daughter — filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt lights up with joy while talking about his youngest daughter Alia Bhatt. As Alia turns 25 today, proud of her career choices, ideologies, achievements and sense of maturity, Bhatt calls Alia “the best gift” of life. Excerpts from the interview: restaurants or book shops asking for a photo because I’m Alia’s father. She has given the brand Mahesh Bhatt a new sheen. One of my most precious treasures that I’ve preserved , is an autograph that Alia gave me after Student of the Year (2012) became a hit. She had written, ‘Thank you papa for not helping me at all.’ Nothing could be more librating than seeing you child take off without your help. It speaks volumes of her talent. She is self-made girl.

Contrary to people’s perception that a film star hardly has time for family, Alia was the one who came up with the idea of a WhatsApp family group. She spearheads family get togethers, where we all come and become hysteric, hilarious and psychotic. She insists that we do have a meal together.

As compared to my other two daughters, Pooja and Shaheen, Alia is the most balanced. She has a passionate demeanour, and expresses her thoughts with intensity. Like me, she is punctual and meticulous about what she is delivering. You can’t have a career like this by being ‘eccentric’ or half hearted about things. She never felt the need to communicate things that she knows I’ll understand even without her saying. When you have a bond so intense, nonverbal communication happens. But, when she has something overwhelming to share, she talks to me as a person, who has a radical view of life rather than a ‘father’.

I’ve never scolded my kids, but I express myself wholeheartedly. As a parent, I’ve never told them that this is the model and you have to fit into it. I’ve always said, ‘these are the standards of the world on the basis on which you will be judged’. Once Alia was going to Paris on a solo trip and I had told her that ‘long productive careers don’t happen by chance and one needs to keep on reinventing oneself ’. To that, she replied, ‘I don’t want to be remembered only as an actor. There are more skies ahead of me to fly.’ That day, I realised my child has her eyes fixed on some thing much beyond what Bollywood would like to position in front of her.

Years ago, I read a particular quote, which I run my life on: O my soul, don’t look for the immortal but exhaust the limits of the possible. I’m blessed to have a daughter like Alia.