Alia Bhatt (WoW Celebrity of the Evening) at the Outlook Business ‘Women of Worth' Awards 2019

Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt was honoured with a WoW Celebrity of the Evening at the fourth edition of the Outlook Business ‘Women of Worth' Awards 2019 (#WOW2019) held in Mumbai on March 6. The Outlook Business ‘Women of Worth’ 2019 honoured women entrepreneurs and changemakers who have made it big in the world of business. Alia Bhatt and 10 other women achievers were awarded.

Alia Bhatt made a splash with her presence at the awards function and enthralled everyone with her easygoing charm. The young and sprightly actress who has delighted audiences with her movie choices right from Student of the Year to Highway, 2 States, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Badrinath Ki Dulhania, Udta Punjab, Raazi and the recent Gully Boy, spoke her heart out to the audience.

In conversation with Outlook Business Editor Ms. N. Mahalakshmi, Alia Bhatt spoke about topics ranging from her choice of roles to nepotism in Bollywood. The spunky actress also posed for a selfie with the audience and was especially charming towards a lady who came on stage to ask her a question.

On how she decides on a role in a film, Alia Bhatt said that she goes by her gut feeling. “There is no clinical thought process to it. It’s as simple as choosing food or a good restaurant.” As for the preparation that goes into her role, Alia said, “I go with the instinct of my director, because every director is different and so every director’s process will be different, and so will mine. If I have a fixed process, then somehow or someday, I will be the same version of myself. I always say I am ‘Moody, Floaty, Fire, Desire’. The reason I say I am ‘floaty ’is because I can literally float along with anyone and follow their lead.”

Alia Bhatt shared with Ms. Mahalakshmi that while growing up in a film family, she was not aware of actors and directors in her family. “In my head, I was a superstar, even at home,” she said. “I used to perform for my grandparents and in front of the mirror. So, I was literally in my own world. I really understood this actor-director world once I started acting. My parents kept me very away from the limelight and the entertainment part of their life. I used to have a voice of my own and my opinion in my house,” she revealed.

On nepotism in Bollywood, Alia Bhatt said, “My opinion on nepotism does not come from a negative space. Nepotism exists in every field. If you know somebody from a certain field you will always help them. But having said that, I am so in love with acting and being an actor that I would be devastated if I never got the opportunity. Of course, it feels terrible if you feel that someone is getting an opportunity because of their family line. So, there is no way to counter that thought. But having said that, once you come into the foray, the audience chooses you. So if you are working, it's not just because you're getting lucky every time. There does go some hard work into that. So, while keeping in mind the sentiment it is also important to not discard a lot of hard work. As I said, there are no negative thoughts. I can't wake up and say sorry for being born in this family. But I can definitely say that I will work as hard as possible to prove that I deserve to be here."

On working with her father (filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt), Alia revealed that she is petrified of working with him, as he thinks he cannot get through a wall that surrounds her.

Like every year, the 2019 special edition of Outlook Business was unveiled at the event where the women achievers were felicitated for their accomplishments. In an interactive session, each woman achiever spoke about her journey and her story.

This year, an interesting mix of personalities was awarded at the Outlook Business WOW 2019 Awards. The award-winners are:

• Alia Bhatt (Actress, Bollywood).

• Kalpana Saroj (Chairperson, Kamani Group).

• Malini Agarwal (Founder, Miss Malini).

• Manisha Raisinghani (Co-Founder and CTO, Loginext).

• Chetna Gala Sinha (Founder, Mann Deshi Foundation).

• Brinda Somaiyya (Principal Architect, Somaya & Kalappa).

• Mallika Dua (Actress, Comedienne and Writer).

• Nidhi Bisht (The Viral Fever).

• Prajakta Koli (YouTube personality and video blogger).

• Chhavi Rajawat (Sarpanch of Soda Village, Rajasthan).

• Dipali Goenka (CEO, Welspun India).

The endeavour was to curate the stories of these extraordinary women, and have them share their experience for the benefit of other budding entrepreneurs.