Alia Bhatt On What It Means To Be A Millennial Icon

Having worked with three female directors — Gauri Shinde (Dear Zindagi), Meghna Gulzar (Raazi) and Zoya Akhtar (Gully Boy) — how would you describe their working styles?

I love Gauri Shinde and adore her working style. The way she thinks is the way her writing translates. I believe she is a genius. With Meghna, I’m in safe hands. She gets into little details of what she wants. I noticed this while watching her last film, Talvar. Zoya Akhar’s direction is a beautiful mixture of unconventional and mainstream cinema.

Looking back, three memorable turning points in your life… 

The biggest turning point was when I decided to start getting fit and feeling more comfortable in my skin. Career wise, I discovered many things while filming Highway; it was like learning more about myself. It’s something that carried a lot of importance. After making the AIB video that took a dig at my IQ level, I discovered how liberating it was to be able to laugh at yourself and how the opinions of trolls did not matter to me as much.

What would you say are the responsibilities of being a popular cultural icon? 

People try to follow everything you do, and being a role model for the younger generation is an uplifting feeling. The media is so transparent these days they highlight every part of your journey. When people tell me that I inspire them, it makes all the late-night shoots and the constant travelling worth it. I’ve always loved to embody characters that have a positive impact on the audience and inspire little girls to grow up and aim to be brave, strong women.

You have your own line of bags with Caprese, tell us about that? 

What I love about the Caprese <3 Alia collection is that it offers me a perfect companion for every occasion. The bags are multifunctional, spacious and ideal for travelling. My favourite ones are the tote and satchel bags.