When Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor welcomed their daughter Raha in 2022, they requested the Mumbai paparazzi to not click her photos and the photographers, who understood their concerns, obliged. But to their surprise, Alia and Ranbir decided to get Raha clicked in December 2023, when she was just a year old. Now, Alia has opened up about that decision and said that Ranbir presented her with the idea and while she was anxious upon hearing this, she eventually warmed up to it.

In a chat with Kareena Kapoor on What Women Want, Alia said that initially, she did not want Raha to become a reel on Instagram. She recalled that while they were on their way to the Christmas lunch, Ranbir asked if they should get a picture with Raha. She recalled how Ranbir’s suggestion heightened her anxiety. “Earlier I had a very different feeling of Raha being papped. We both (she and Ranbir) were together and I was like, ‘she’s too small. She should not be a reel on Instagram’. Then there was this one moment before the Christmas lunch (at Kunal Kapoor’s residence in 2023) where we were driving and Ranbir is like, ‘Listen, should we take a picture with Raha today?’ and I was like, ‘Are you sure?’ Because I do have anxiety. I am clinically diagnosed with anxiety so every moment for me is anxious. It is like worst case scenario, all the time.”

 

 

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However, Ranbir reassured her, asking about her worst fears and calming her down during their drive from Bandra to Juhu. Alia shared, “He obviously understood that, and he said ‘okay, now you’re going to get really anxious so now let’s talk about what your worst fear is’. We talked all the way from Bandra to Juhu and then finally, I was like ‘listen, it’s true this is our life and I don’t want people to think that you can’t see my daughter’s face, that was not the intention’.” When the trio reached the venue, Ranbir addressed the photographers and requested them to not make loud noises as he was getting Alia out of the car. As soon as Raha stepped out, photographers clicked her photos which were later widely shared on the internet.

Reflected on the experience, Alia said, “I just didn’t want to be like a whole thing and that one moment happened, and it was such a cute moment where she was holding both our faces like that.” While Alia and Ranbir are now frequently seen with their daughter, Alia confessed that she still gets nervous when her daughter is surrounded by photographers.

Alia is currently promoting her film Jigra.

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