Alia Bhatt was recently seen supporting and promoting the small but relevant film No Fathers in Kashmir, which stars her mother, Soni Razdan.
But Alia says that she would have supported the film even otherwise. “I believe that if I have a voice, I must have been given that voice for a reason. And I better use it for the right purpose. No Fathers in Kashmir has something that needs to be said and heard. If I can carry its message forward, I will do that,” she says.
Speaking of her own fan base, she adds, “Even before Raazi, I’d look at the number of followers I had on Instagram and think how much I could influence people who follow me.”
Asked if she would have played the Kashmiri protagonist in No Fathers..., and Alia disagrees, “Zara Webb is so good. I’d never take her place.”
Meanwhile, unknown to the world, Alia keeps supporting causes that she believes in. It has now come to light that the actress was, funding many of the late filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi’s bills when she was critically ill in the hospital.
Says a source close to Alia’s mother, “Soni was Kalpana’s best friend and she did all she could to pay Kalpana’s medical bills. Although some people came forward to help, the funds dried up soon. This is where Alia stepped in and paid whatever was required quietly.”
However, when asked about her generosity, Alia says, “It is not about generosity. It is about using what you have been given for the right purposes. I am sure there are many girls who are more talented and better looking than me. Why am I chosen for this special success? There has to be a reason.”
