Alia HT Interview (Raazi, 2019 Films, Trade Expectations and Ranbir)

The buzz around Raazi continues even now. How does it feel?

I am very happy. It was sort of a risky/ different/important decision of my life. Also, I went on an extremely emotional journey with Raazi. So, when it's counted amongst the most loved films of the year, or one of the films that kicked off a change of some kind, and a smaller' film that did big numbers, I feel thrilled. It was a huge team effort and we all worked extremely hard on it. There is no better feeling than people coming up with that kind of appreciation. Also, as an actor, it makes you believe in your choices. Honestly, I always had a gut feeling that Raazi could be one of those films, which does big numbers, but I didn't want to say it out aloud. But when it actually happened, it gave me a lot of confidence, and I was content about my decision to do the film.

Looking at your loaded line-up and the stage of career that you are in, 2019 looks like a very important year for you.

Yes, it surely is. It's the first time that I am doing many things. It's the first time I've worked with Zoya Akhtar, which is a big deal for me. Also, it's the first time that I've done a film like Kalank, which is a period epic drama through which I am entering this world of dance, costumes and layered acting which I have never tapped into before. It's a very different world. Then, Brahmastra is a supernatural world. It may be set in the present but the world is very new. So, I will have a lot of firsts in 2019, as there are no templates for any of my films. For that reason, I've already started to get nervous. All my films are like good difficult' but it has to turn out well at the end of the day.

Do you feel a bit of pressure with the expectations that people and the trade world has from you?

People may not believe it but I am very interested and tuned into the trade aspect of films. It's like the mathematics of film-making. So, you may understand the creative part but the business is what matters ultimately. At the same time, I am not delusional and have my own expectations from films. I am also aware that trade world also has certain expectations in general, but I am sure even the trade will understand what the capabilities are of a type A or a type B film. Interestingly, now, we have reached a point where films kind of speak for themselves. For Raazi, I had expected that it should make 80 crore but it came as a pleasant surprise when it ended up making 120 crore. That way, I keep very modest expectations.

There has been a lot of talk about your relationship with Ranbir Kapoor. Are you immune to such things now?

Yes, there was too much [focus] on the personal life, and honestly, I have never had my personal life getting spoken about so much. Earlier, these talks were very upar upar se but this year, it suddenly became all about that. Such talks don't bother me, but I don't like talking about it is because somehow, it then diverts all the attention, and that's what it all becomes about. It's not as if a relationship is an achievement. It is just a part and a very important part of my life. It's seamless as well as beautiful, and should be celebrated when it has to be. Right now, it should just be left on its own and kind of kept in a corner where it can stay safe and warm. You can say that it's like a cat in my life that I want to protect, and it's not ready to come on social media the way Edward has.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/alia-bhatt-on-relationship-ranbir-kapoor-not-an-achievement-but-important-part-of-life/story-o3aE4jxAgId6DJwe004JHJ.html

Originally posted by: ToujoursPur

🤣

Although I love ranbir and alia both...but calling her relationship a cat in a corner is too much. I get the picture...she wants it all warm and closeted and protected and away from limelight. Most probably in alia universe this is trying to sound funny about it.

I liked how she said it was seamless and very important in her life.

Originally posted by: jb508

She stopped posting stuff involving Ranbir a while back. He got replaced with Ayan lol. I thought it was because what happened on Koffee with Karan.

Originally posted by: jb508

There has been a lot of talk about your relationship with Ranbir Kapoor. Are you immune to such things now?

[P]Yes,
there was too much [focus] on the personal life, and honestly, I have
never had my personal life getting spoken about so much. Earlier, these
talks were very upar upar se but this year, it suddenly became all about
that. Such talks don't bother me, but I don't like talking about it is
because somehow, it then diverts all the attention, and that's what it
all becomes about. ...

Originally posted by: ToujoursPur

I think it was because of the snake emojis.

But she was blushing on the roundtable and was La familia😃. So its cool.

The cat analogy was really funny and strange. But quite cuddly i might add.😆

Originally posted by: IAmLuvBolly

Is she trying to act surprised that her personal life has been front and center this past year while she herself put it there? This is one of the reasons there's a slew of negativity towards her lately. She's never missed an opportunity to show off that she's in a relationship (whatever the nature of that relationship may be, I won't debate here) with Ranbir. And when she tries to pretend otherwise she comes across as fake and disingenuous.