After over a decade in the industry, Alia Bhatt made her much-anticipated debut at the Cannes Film Festival this year. The actor, who stepped into the spotlight with Student of the Year in 2012, turned heads at the French Riviera with three stunning looks, including a custom Gucci ensemble designed to resemble an Indian lehenga. As the brand ambassador for Gucci and L’Oréal Paris, Alia dazzled on the global stage—but her thoughts were rooted back home, with her daughter, Raha.
In an intimate chat with Brut India, Alia opened up about how motherhood has transformed her, both emotionally and personally. “It was like there was this person who just disappeared, and I kept asking myself—who am I now?” she said. While she admitted that it’s still too early to say how motherhood will affect her film choices, she believes it has expanded her sense of empathy. “I think your heart is just wide open… there’s a sensitivity you can’t quite define,” she explained.
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Alia revealed that since becoming a mother, her worldview has shifted entirely. “You stop thinking about yourself. That’s the biggest change. The moment you become a mother, your focus turns outward—to your child, and then to the world. Everyone’s pain, everyone’s joy hits differently,” she said, describing how motherhood has made her more emotionally receptive.
She also joked about her newfound ability to communicate silently with other moms. “I can have silent conversations with new moms and they’ll understand exactly what I mean,” she laughed. Although she attended Cannes solo, she noted that she never feels alone: “Raha’s presence is always with me.”
On the globalisation of Indian cinema, Alia offered a thoughtful take. “India is so vast that we’re practically a continent of our own. Our language, culture, and identity change every few kilometres,” she said, adding that while global recognition is welcome, it won’t change what Indian artists are already doing. “I feel immense pride when people like Payal Kapadia win at Cannes or when Homebound gets screened, but this is not the beginning—it’s long overdue. We’ve always had so much to offer. It’s like a dam waiting to burst.”
Alia was last seen in Jigra and is currently gearing up for Alpha, the first female-led film in YRF’s spy universe. She will also star in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War, alongside husband Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal.