Alia Bhatt Talks About Sidharth Malhotra, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh And Aashiqui 3!

Alia Bhatt has been on a “break” since the release of her last hit, Badrinath Ki Dulhania. Now, even as she cools off her heels in the sweltering Mumbai summer, the actor says she has been “really enjoying the break”. She’s been off the radar, but HT managed to catch up with the actor to talk about her love life, working with Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, and more.

You have been missing in action for a while. Where have you been?

I have been here, doing my [own] thing, and honestly, I’ve been really enjoying it. I am learning so many new things – I’m taking Kathak classes as well as piano lessons. I’m also doing mixed martial arts, so, I am keeping my creative mind ready (smiles). It’s the part of me that wants to learn new things, and it doesn’t get that kind of stimulation when you’re working constantly. Basically, I am working on myself. I can’t just sit at home and not do something. Even now, all the classes must be taking up just two to three hours, so I’m still free for the rest of the day because I’m not filming.

You have started an ecological initiative called Co-Exist?

I’m a very emotional person and extremely sensitive, and if there is one cause that I feel like I can actually fight for, it is animals. Talking about nature in general, I feel it’s being disrupted on a daily basis. So, be it a turtle being put into a microwave, elephants’ habitats in forests being disrupted or dogs being thrown off roofs, this is becoming a disgusting place to live in. I feel embarrassed to call myself a human being, because of the kind of harm we are causing to fellow human beings and animals. I have been planning it for a long time, but since I have the time now, I’ve worked on it.

Do you wish to have your own organisation or a team to work on your ecological campaign in the future?

I never say never but Co-Exist is not an NGO, it’s a movement and a campaign that I have started. I am pushing it a lot digitally. I have no idea where it can reach. I am not setting any boundaries for it as well. My dream is to maybe have an animal shelter home someday where I can keep all the animals and even stray animals that need help. I don’t know whether I will realise that dream or whether that dream will change and become a bigger dream. I have to believe in a campaign and feel really passionate about it to work on it.

You are soon going to work with the country’s two heart-throbs: Ranveer Singh and Ranbir Kapoor. Are you excited?

Of course, definitely [I am looking forward to it]. They are heart-throbs, and how. Of course, Ayan (Mukerji) and Zoya (Akhtar) are also heart-throbs to me, because of their sheer brilliance. Both are different films, so they can’t be compared.

You have already worked with Ranveer?

Yes, I have already shot with Ranveer a few times (in ad films and videos), which is way more than what I’ve done with Ranbir. Ranveer is just crazy. I have a complete blast when I am working with him, since he is so mad that you can’t help but ask, “Listen, are you okay? All’s good in the hood?” because this isn’t normal behaviour. But that’s what I love about him: that he is so out there with his enthusiasm. And it’s all real and nothing is made up, which is why I feel people connect with him and love him so much.

And what about Ranbir?

Ranbir, on the other hand, isn’t like that, as he is way more into his performance and art. He doesn’t say much, silently observes, and is very relaxed about the whole thing. I have always been a Ranbir fan, especially since Saawariya (2007). So it’s a very big deal that I am working with him.

Is all the talk about your relationship with Sidharth Malhotra fact or fiction?

I think it’s ‘faction’. I now have a new term for this. When people use the world ‘rumour’, I am like, ‘Kahaan ka rumour? Woh ho gaya. Abhi rumour nahi hai; ye purana ho gaya hai’ (What rumour? That’s old now. There’s no rumour anymore). Earlier, stories would call ‘rumoured lovebirds’. Now, there’s no rumour; it’s just lovebirds (laughs).

Of late, you have been spotted quite a few times with Sidharth that set tongues wagging…

There’s no denying that I do spend time with him. So, I am not going to say that, ‘Oh, I wasn’t spotted with Sid’. I was seen and I am okay with people spotting me there. I am very happy going to parties with him and being spotted at lunches with him. But I do the same thing with my other friends as well and spend time with them too. But Sidharth is and will always be special. That goes without saying.

By now, have you gotten used to talk about you and Sidharth malhotra?

It has become very blah. It has become like second nature to me. It sounds the same as something like, ‘Alia Bhatt is 24 and she lives in Juhu’. I don’t think of it as news anymore. It is like, haan, woh toh kab se pata hai (yeah, I’ve known that for a while). It has become a fact of sorts.

But some people from the industry are quite open about relationships…

It’s great that some people are open about their personal lives and about what they are doing. I am also quite open about some areas of my life and not that much about other spheres.

Many felt that recently, your mother (Soni Razdan) let the cat out of the bag by hinting that you could be dating Sidharth Malhotra?

I think what she meant to say — in a holistic manner — that, ‘even if she was dating Sid, why I should have a problem.’ There was a point when I used to find this piece of information interesting because I was like, ‘wow, they are talking about it.’ Then, there was a point when I used to find it irritating, and then it stopped affecting me at all. Now, it has reached a point where it’s not even information anymore.

Ever since your debut, you have worked in back-to-back films. Now, you have been on a break for a few weeks. Isn’t it unusual?

Yes, it’s very unusual for me. Honestly, for the first few days, I was a bit confused, as I didn’t know what was happening. I found it a bit weird so initially, I took off to London, where Ayan (Mukerji; director) was working on some stuff for Dragon, so I thought, ‘I will take a holiday and plus, I will also spend some time with him to feel like a part of the film process.’ Then, I came back, as I had some work but again went to London with my mum. But whenever I am sitting at home, I am thinking, ‘why am I not working, what is happening, what do I do next.’ It’s not getting me to a negative side but it is making me very anxious. In a way, it’s good too, as I am doing all the things that I wanted to do before such as working on my animal campaign, attending classes and reading my scripts that I am going to start work on. So, I have already started prepping for all my films.

Has the anxiousness got to do with all the competition around in the film industry?

Honestly, the anxiety has got nothing to do with competition. Firstly, anxiety is for oneself because you don’t like the fact that you are feeling incomplete. I also feel this is not how it should be. Work should be a ‘part of my life’ and not ‘my life’ but it is and that’s why there is some anxiety. Like I said, ‘an idle mind is a devil’s workshop’, I am overthinking a lot of things that one shouldn’t be thinking about such as my choices, whether I am making the right decisions, behaving well enough, or am I being disciplined enough. I am almost trying to police myself so that I don’t lose the mojo. I am not getting insecure; it’s more to do with when am I going to face the camera again for my films.

Are you doing Aashiqui 3?

As far as I know, Aashiqui 3 is going through a script makeover. There was a story that worked well but with so many new films and other ongoing things, the stories also have to keep changing and must be updated, especially since the original idea was [thought of] some time ago. That’s why I don’t like to commit to projects well in advance because stories and ideas in the world are changing by the minute. Aashiqui 3 is the film that I would love to do as my first film with the [family production] company because I connect with that franchise. I have always told my father, ‘if there is a film that we do together first, I would love to do this film.’ I have no idea if something else will happen in between but all our energies are focused on it, so in my heart, I feel it will happen.