Alia Bhatt(born 15 March 1993) is an Indian actress who appears inBollywoodfilms. The daughter of filmmakerMahesh Bhattand actressSoni Razdan, Bhatt first appeared on screen as a child in a minor role in the thrillerSangharsh(1999). As an adult, she made her acting debut withKaran Johar's romantic dramaStudent of the Year(2012).Bhatt's portrayal of a teenage girl who developsstockholm syndromeinImtiaz Ali's road movieHighway(2014) garnered critical acclaim. She won theFilmfare Critics Award for Best Actressand also garnered aBest Actressnomination at the same ceremony. She went on to establish herself in Bollywood by starring oppositeArjun Kapoorin the romantic drama2 States(2014) andVarun Dhawanin the romantic comedyHumpty Sharma Ki Dulhania(2014).[1][2][3]In addition to acting in films, Bhatt has sung two of her film songs. She participates in stage shows, and has launched her own line of clothing for women.Bhatt's first acting role was as a child artist inSangharsh(1999), starringAkshay KumarandPreity Zintawhere she played the younger version of Zinta's character.[13]She had her first leading role in 2012 withKaran Johar'sStudent of the Year, alongsideSidharth MalhotraandVarun Dhawan.[14]She portrayed the role of Shanaya, a sophisticated teenage girl who is in a relationship with Dhawan's character but is attracted to the character played by Malhotra.Taran AdarshofBollywood Hungamawrote of her performance, "Alia's role is reminiscent ofKareena KapoorinKabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Stylish, classy, born with a silver spoon, she's someone who loves to flaunt not just her clothes and bags, but also her riches. Extremely photogenic, Alia makes a super-confident debut."[15]Film criticAnupama ChopraofHindustan Timesalso mentioned the similarities with Kapoor's character, but noted that her performance was "without the killer attitude."[16]Student of the Yearwas a financial success, grossing700 million(US$11million) domestically.[17]In 2014, Bhatt had three film releases. She played the protagonist ofImtiaz Ali'sroad filmHighwayoppositeRandeep Hooda. Her portrayal of a lonely teenage girl who developsstockholm syndromeafter being abducted was acclaimed by the critics.[18]Rachit Gupta ofFilmfarementioned that "[a]t 20, its surprising how Alia has got so many deft nuances right. Its as if the actor has grown with the character. She is truly one of the most promising new actors in Hindi films."[19]Sonia Chopra of Sify.com added that Bhatt is "[c]ompletely immersed" in her role, and that "Alias uninhibited and raw performance will have you emotionally invested in her character all through."[20]However, the film underperformed at the box office.[21]She won theFilmfare Critics Award for Best Actressfor the film, and garnered aBest Actressnomination at the ceremony.[22][23]Bhatt next featured in Johar andSajid Nadiadwala's joint production2 StateswithArjun Kapoor. An adaptation ofChetan Bhagat'snovel of the same name, it narrates the story of twoIIM Ahmedabadstudents who encounter trouble in convincing their parents to approve of their relationship. For her role as Ananya Swaminatham, a headstrongTamil girl, she learnt thelanguage.[24]Critics were appreciative of her performance withRediff.compublishing that Bhatt "really grows into the character and makes you believe that she's a career-oriented IIM-A grad."[25]Shubhra Gupta ofThe Indian Expressadded that Bhatt was a "surprise" and was "easy and fresh and natural."[26]The film emerged as a major commercial success,[27]earning over1 billion(US$16million) in domestic ticket sales.[28]Bhatt's final film role in 2014 was as Kavya Pratap Singh, a Punjabi girl who engages in a romantic affair with a stranger a few days prior to her wedding, in the romantic comedyHumpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. Co-starring Varun Dhawan andSiddharth Shukla, the film was described as a tribute toDilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge(1995) by Johar, who served as producer.[29]Writing forIndia Today, Rohit Khilnani thought that Bhatt had pitched in "one of her best performances so far", though Nandini Ramnath ofMintfound her performance to be lacking in subtlety, writing that she was "more comfortable acting out her feelings through dialogue and actions".[30][31]Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniaalso proved to be a box office hit.[32]Later that year, Bhatt appeared in a short film on women's safety, entitledGoing Home, from directorVikas Bahl.[33]Box Office Indiareported that her accomplishments in 2014 established her as a leading actress of Bollywood.[1]As of May 2015, Bhatt has completed work on Vikas Bahl'sShaandaar, adestination weddingfilm oppositeShahid Kapoor, in which she plays the role of an insomniac.[34][35]She is filmingUdta Punjab, a thriller onsubstance abusefrom directorAbhishek Chaubey, that co-stars Shahid Kapoor andKareena Kapoor Khan.[36]She is also filming alongside Sidharth Malhotra andFawad KhanforShakun Batra's family dramaKapoor and Sons,[37]and has committed to feature alongsideRanbir KapoorinAyan Mukerji's untitled project, afantasy filmabout a man with superpowers.[38]In addition, she will reunite with Varun Dhawan forKaran Malhotra's dramaShuddhi.[39]Other work