Alia Bhatt

Alia Bhatt made her leading debut in 2012 with Karan Johar’s teen drama Student of the Year, co-starring Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan. Selected from 500 auditionees, she secured the role on the condition that she lose 16 kg, which she accomplished in three months. Playing a sophisticated teenager caught in a love triangle, her performance drew mixed reviews—some compared her role to Kareena Kapoor’s in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham… (2001), while others found her portrayal lacking. Despite this, the film was a commercial success, grossing ₹960 million (US$11 million).

Eager to prove herself beyond glamourous roles, Bhatt took on the challenging part of a kidnapped woman in Imtiaz Ali’s Highway (2014). To prepare, she worked on her Hindi diction and endured emotionally and physically demanding scenes. The film’s sequential shooting and improvisational style allowed her to deliver a raw performance, earning critical acclaim. Variety praised her for bringing “underlying sadness and wistful intelligence” to the role. Though the film underperformed at the box office, she won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress and received a Best Actress nomination. The same year, she starred in Going Home, a short film promoting women’s safety.

Bhatt continued her rise with two romantic hits under Dharma Productions in 2014—2 States, based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel, and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, a tribute to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995). Playing a Tamil girl in 2 States, she learned the language for authenticity, and critics praised her natural performance. In Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, she portrayed a bride-to-be caught in a pre-wedding romance. While some critics lauded her, others found her acting overly expressive. Both films crossed ₹1 billion (US$12 million) worldwide, solidifying her as a bankable star.

In 2015, Bhatt reunited with director Vikas Bahl for Shaandaar, a romantic comedy where she played an insomniac opposite Shahid Kapoor. The film, however, failed to impress both critics and audiences, with reviewers noting her lively performance but criticizing the film’s execution. It underperformed commercially, marking a rare setback in her otherwise rising career.

In 2016, Alia Bhatt began with a supporting role in Kapoor & Sons, an ensemble drama that was both a critical and commercial success. She then took on a more intense role in Udta Punjab, portraying a poor Bihari migrant caught in the dark world of substance abuse. To prepare, she studied drug abuse documentaries and learned the Bihari dialect. The film’s controversial depiction of drug use faced censorship challenges, but Bhatt’s powerful performance earned widespread praise. Rediff.com highlighted her commitment to the role, especially during a crucial speech that elevated the film. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her role.

That same year, Bhatt starred in Dear Zindagi, a coming-of-age drama where she played a young woman seeking guidance from a therapist (Shah Rukh Khan). Critics praised her for adding depth to her character’s millennial struggles, earning her another Filmfare nomination.

Her success continued in 2017 with Badrinath Ki Dulhania, a romantic comedy about a woman challenging patriarchal norms. Critics appreciated its gender equality message, and Bhatt secured another Filmfare nomination.

In 2018, she starred in Raazi, an espionage thriller set during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. Playing a Kashmiri spy married to a Pakistani officer, Bhatt found the role emotionally exhausting. Critics lauded her mature and nuanced performance, and the film’s success made it one of the highest-grossing female-led Hindi films. She won another Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

Bhatt launched her production company, Eternal Sunshine Productions, in 2019. That year, she appeared in Gully Boy, a musical inspired by Mumbai’s street rap scene. She attended workshops to master Bambaiya Hindi and improvised several scenes. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and became her highest-grossing film, earning over ₹2.37 billion (US$27 million). It won a record 13 Filmfare Awards, including Best Actress for Bhatt.

Later in 2019, Bhatt starred in Kalank, a big-budget period drama set before India’s partition. Despite preparing by studying classic films and Urdu diction, critics found her performance repetitive. The film failed at the box office.

In 2020, she appeared in Sadak 2, a sequel to her father’s 1991 film Sadak. Released on Disney+ Hotstar due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it became a target of backlash amid the nepotism debate following Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. The film’s trailer became one of the most disliked YouTube videos, and critics dismissed her performance as underwhelming.

In 2022, Alia Bhatt solidified her status as one of Bollywood’s top actresses with a series of successful projects. She took on the title role in Gangubai Kathiawadi, a biopic directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, which premiered at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival. To prepare, she studied Meena Kumari’s work and watched films like Mandi and Memoirs of a Geisha. Initially considered a misfit for the role, Bhatt silenced critics with a powerful performance. The film grossed over ₹2 billion (US$23 million) worldwide, and The Guardian recognized her portrayal among the best big-screen performances of all time. She won her fourth Filmfare Award for Best Actress and shared the National Film Award for Best Actress with Kriti Sanon (Mimi).

That same year, she appeared in RRR, one of the highest-grossing Indian films ever, though her role was brief, and her Telugu dialogues were dubbed. She then starred in Darlings, a Netflix black comedy about domestic abuse, which also marked her first production venture under Eternal Sunshine Productions. The film became Netflix’s most-watched Indian release in its opening weekend, earning her the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Actress.

Bhatt ended 2022 with Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva, a fantasy film directed by Ayan Mukerji. As the first part of a planned trilogy, it was among the most expensive Indian films, with a ₹4 billion (US$46 million) budget. Though some critics found her role underwritten, the film grossed ₹4.31 billion (US$50 million), making it the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.

In 2023, she reunited with Karan Johar for Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, a romantic comedy with Ranveer Singh. The film’s release was delayed due to her pregnancy, but it became the seventh highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, earning ₹3.5 billion (US$40 million). She won her fifth Filmfare Award for Best Actress, tying the record with Nutan and Kajol.

Expanding to Hollywood, Bhatt made her American debut in Netflix’s Heart of Stone, co-starring Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan. Playing a villainous hacker, she performed action sequences while pregnant. Though the film was critically panned, it performed well on Netflix.

In 2024, she became an executive producer on the crime drama series Poacher, released on Amazon Prime Video after its Sundance premiere. She then starred in Jigra, an action thriller where she played a woman trying to rescue her brother from an East Asian prison. Inspired by her own motherhood, she found the character relatable, but the film received mixed reviews and underperformed at the box office.

Looking ahead, Bhatt is set to join the YRF Spy Universe in the female-led Alpha and will reunite with Bhansali for Love & War, co-starring Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal.