Mum's advice helps Alia

Alia Bhatt may be the next big thing in Bollywood, but the actress has also been the subject for a flurry of (unflattering) Internet memes of late. If Alia has taken the comments in her stride, it is thanks in no small part, to advice she's received from her mother, Soni Razdan.

"My mother always reminds me that an actor must be thick-skinned. I can't expect to be praised all the time; there's got to be some slamming. She also advised me that before reacting to criticism, I should first put myself in the other person's shoes. That will make things clearer about how I should handle the situation," Alia says.

She adds there are a lot of things she still has to work on. "When I have to say a dialogue fast, I tend to eat up my words and fumble. That is something I have been working on," she says.

There has been a buzz of late that the actress has been chosen to star in the remake of The Fault In Our Stars, with mentor Karan Johar. While she doesn't confirm it, Alia tells us, "I am reading the book at the moment and it's lovely. It touches your heart. What I like about Karan is that he treats everyone with respect, even if they are newcomers."