Even as her daughter Alia Bhatt gets ready for a movie career with an acting debut in Karan Johar's Student Of The Year, mom Soni Razdan is busy with a script that she will direct soon after SOTY's release."It will happen when it happens," Soni says. "Let Alia make her debut in Karan's film. She couldn't have hoped for a better launch."
"I was with her on the outdoor location because she needed me around until she found her bearings in the film industry. Now, I think Alia is fairly confident of herself, so I can now go back to writing my film. When Karan Johar spotted her in school and signed her, she was just 17. Now at 19, she knows her mind. I don't think she needs me to be around. I never needed anyone when I became an actress. I ran off to England on my own. It's a different world today. Girls are no longer that safe on their own," she says. Buzz is that Alia will play the lead in Soni's film.
Alia, says her mother, always wanted to be an actress. In fact, she had auditioned for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's proposed love story Hamari Jaan Ho Tum, a take on Balika Badhu, at age 10.
Recalling the incident, Soni says, "Sanjay Bhansali predicted she was a born actress."
On the other hand, Soni's elder daughter Shaheen has no inclination to face the camera. "She wants to write. She is more of a loner than Alia. She reads a lot. She is gearing up for a career in writing. Between my two girls, Alia showed a natural flair for acting."
Soni has not seen Alia on screen 'except for little rushes here and there, and when I was around during the editing.'
"I am as curious about my daughter's acting debut as the rest of the world," she adds. "I think Alia has got the best possible debut under the biggest banner. But it's not going to be easy for her to go from the first to the second film smoothly."
