Alia Bhatt, in a recent interview, said that she is a bit of a ‘control freak’ and likes to keep everything in check but that becomes a bit difficult when a baby comes into the picture. Alia Bhatt and actor husband Ranbir Kapoor welcomed their first child, daughter Raha, last November.
Speaking about her balancing act, Alia told Vogue, “I’m not putting too much pressure on either Raha or myself to be together as a family unit with Ranbir all the time. She’s just five months old and I’m so impressed with how well-behaved and peaceful she is. And on days when she isn’t, that’s fine too, because she’s a baby and has the right to have good and bad days. Similarly, I, as a mum, have the right to have great and terrible days too—even though it’s very difficult for me to not have it together at all times because I’m such a control freak. I always want to ace things and usually have everything under check. I guess what grounds me is how passionate I am about my work.”
Alia said that she does suffer from mother’s guilt when she leaves Raha for work, and feels the pressure to do well both as a mom and an actor.
“It does make me anxious to think whether I am doing right by my baby and work. There’s so much pressure on women to ace both…almost like this old-school dogma that once you have a baby, you have to martyr your career or you’re not a model mum. It’s very important for new mothers to get that time off work to gather their bearings, and it’s equally crucial for corporations and industries to grant them that time instead of writing them off,” she said.
“I’m always wondering what people are thinking. Do they actually think I’m managing well or are they only saying it to placate me? Even if there isn’t judgement, you feel very critical of yourself. But I work hard at my mental health—I go to therapy every week where I voice these fears. And it helps me understand that this is not something that I will be able to figure out on day one or five or even ten; it’s an ever-evolving, ever-growing process. You have to be able to pick up the pieces of yourself and build anew every day. There’s nothing like, ‘Oh I’ve got it together… I’m coping excellently… I have all the answers.’ No one has all the answers,” Bhatt signed off.
On the work front, Alia Bhatt was last seen in Brahmastra, alongside her real-life partner Ranbir Kapoor. She is now looking forward to the release of Karan Johar’s family entertainer Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, where she will reunite with her Gully Boy co-star Ranveer Singh.
