Alia Bhatt has Shabana Azmi’s approval

If Shaandaar is to be excused, Alia Bhatt continues her unbroken streak of success at the box office. Her new film, Gauri Shinde’s Dear Zindagi, has amassed a total of approximately Rs 38 crore over the weekend, making this potentially one of the most successful films of 2016.

This would be Alia Bhatt’s seventh hit. From the time she made her debut as a leading lady in Karan Johar’s Student Of The Year in 2012, Alia’s career has been on an upswing.

Shabana Azmi who has witnessed Alia bloom into an actress, says she saw this success coming. She says, “I am so proud of her. Alia was three when it was evident that she would be an actor. When I first saw her stills in Student Of The Year, I told her mother Soni Razdan that Alia projects an interesting mix of confidence and vulnerability that will take her far.” She continues, “Her emotional depth at 23 is astonishing. That scene in Kapoor and Sons where she speaks about her parents, or her performance in Highway. I  was surprised by her in Udta Punjab. How could she play a character so alien to her upbringing with such conviction? Javed (Akhtar) can’t stop talking about her performance in Dear Zindagi. More power to her.”