Image shared by Alia Bhatt. (Courtesy: AliaBhatt)
Alia Bhatt is the queen of our hearts. From playing Rani Chatterjee in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani to teaching us how to repeat outfits like a total pro, Alia never fails to make our hearts skip a beat. Now, the actress has opened up about how she deals with trolling and criticism. Alia, at Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2023, said that “negativity travels faster.” The actress, who is celebrating her daughter Raha’s first birthday today, added, “I am a human being, I am bound to say maybe four stupid things in public and people may make fun of that. I may also say 14 intelligent things, but sometimes negativity travels faster than positivity. I believe in the larger picture… Love conquers all.”
Talking about how she dealt with trolls in her initial days, Alia Bhatt said, “I have lived my life in the public eye. So, I have gone through different stages with any sort of scrutiny that I have faced. Maybe, initially, I was a little bit more defensive. Younger… More like…Aray why are they saying this? Later, maybe, I was a bit more dismissive…Like, forget it. No one cares. But I think I have grown into a person who genuinely feels that I have nothing to complain about.
She continued, “I don’t think it’s fair with the position I am in, maybe the privilege that I have, it doesn’t look nice for me… I don’t feel that that’s correct. So, even though maybe sometimes you don’t want to read nasty things about you or your relationships or your family, I’m not going to ever fight with my audience… As long as my movies are doing well and I’m entertaining them, when I say I’m grateful for all the love, these are the moments that I have to show my gratitude. I am who I am because of the audience.
Alia Bhatt added that it is also “important to differentiate between constructive criticism and endless hate”. As per the actress, “a person can just look at me and not like my face. I can’t do anything about it…”
The actress said that she has “never experienced any kind of troll or negativity upfront.” Alia continued, “That’s what I choose to focus on. If there is some chatter, I hope it dies down and we move forward.”
On vulnerability, Alia Bhatt added, “It’s not like nobody is unfazed by negative comments. You have moments of vulnerability… You may even feel regret. I’ve become a more private person as a result. But it’s not like you’re going to fault anyone. I’ve never in my life said that you can’t say this about me or don’t say that about me. Sometimes lies, complete lies are spoken. I’ve never said anything back because I believe that’s not the way I want to conduct myself. I’m openly going to be vulnerable and kind and accepting ki jo bolna hai bolo, as long as you’re enjoying my movies. As long as I manage to entertain you, that’s all that matters.”
