Dear
Alia ,
I was
only 12 years old when I first got a glimpse of you on the silver screen as
Shanaya Singhania. You were this cute bubbly little teenager, new to the
industry as well as new to acting. Nobody could have ever imagined then that
the same cute bubbly little teenager could deliver a movie like Highway and bag
a Filmfare for it! With Highway, we all understood that 'picture abhi baki hai
mere dost' and Highway was just the trailer to all that was coming, and this was just the beginning. You completely won me over with Highway and
ever since I have waited to watch every movie of yours. From cutting your
pictures from the newspaper and sticking it in my scrapbook to putting your
pictures as my phone's wallpaper, I have done it all! My heart smiled each time
I saw you be it on tv or the newspaper or some random poster on the streets.
Anyone who saw this side of me thought that I was crazy! Everyone thought that
all my efforts were going in vain and that you would never know that I even
exist! Well, I never got a chance to
explain myself to everyone but today, on your birthday I would like to.
I was
only 14 years old, battling loneliness. At that time it felt more like
depression but with age, I comprehended that it was loneliness. It was that
point in time in my life when I was all alone, without even a single friend. I
felt like I was a misfit in school. The failures in my class tests felt more
like I was failing in life. I felt that I was inferior to my classmates and
that I was not worthy enough of anything. I used to think of ending my life
almost every single day. Living became a burden at that age. I had sleepless
nights, some nights I spent crying and cried myself to sleep. On one such night,
I decided to just randomly watch some videos when I came across one of your
interviews.
In that
interview, you were asked how you felt about the memes that were being made on
you. To my amazement, instead of showing your disapproval towards those memes,
you gave them the credit for your nationwide popularity! You said that those
memes have made you more famous than your movies had then.
That statement turned tables for me. You taught me to look at situations from a
different perspective. You gave me the perspective in life that I was lacking.
That not every bad thing that happens to you is for the bad, it is actually for
the greater good. It made me realise that everything happens for a reason, you
just need to learn to believe. Believe in yourself and the journey. It is the
belief that keeps you going. From that day onwards you were not only my
favourite actress, but you became my inspiration. Your outlook towards things
inspired me. It made me believe in myself. For me, you are not just an actor,
you are my first inspiration. Since then I have grown up looking up to you.
Today,
on your 28th birthday, instead of scribbling something in my diary or just
posting a story on Instagram, I felt like writing a heartfelt message to you. Thank
you for putting life in characters like Shanaya, Veera, Ananya, Kavya, Alia,
Tia, Pinky, Kaira, Vaidehi, Sehmat, Safeena, Roop and Aarya. You have come a
long way and made your mark in the film industry despite all the criticisms.
You still have a long way to go. Awaiting Gangubai Kathiawadi and RRR to
release.
Wishing the Queen of Bollywood a very happy birthday.
Happy Birthday, Alia Bhatt.
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