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10 things you DIDN'T KNOW about Bollywood's Bhatt family
Everything you may have not known about Bollywood, right here.
Ahead of the nationwide release of Imtiaz Ali's Highway, the film's leading lady has been gathering rave reviews for her performance in what is only her second film.
The 20-year-old actress, who made her acting debut with Student Of The Year in 2012, has silenced skeptics with a markedly different and mature portrayal.
Does all that talent come from her extremely illustrious gene pool? What are Bollywood's Bhatts all about anyway?
Presenting here, are 10 facts about Alia Bhatt and her filmi family you probably didn't know.
The star rises
The youngest of Mahesh Bhatt's kids, Alia's pet name as a kid was Aloo because she was a plump girl.
The young actress once revealed to us that she lost 16 kilos for her big launch vehicle, SOTY.
But before all that happened, she was really skeptical about getting the part since she was about to start her 12th standard when she auditioned for the role and thought she was too young to be a lead.
Also, she didn't know Emraan Hashmi was a cousin when she first saw him, in his debut film Footpath.
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The Bhatt family tree
The Bhatt brothers -- Mahesh, Mukesh and Robin -- have two nephews in Bollywood -- actor Emraan Hashmi and filmmaker Mohit Suri.
Suri's mother is their sister. He was barely eight years old when his mother passed away and the Bhatts took him and his sister Smiley under their care.
The brothers brought up the two kids and also launched them professionally.
Hashmi is related to the Bhatts from their Muslim mother's side.
The Bhatt brothers’ father Nanabhai Bhatt (in the picture) was a well-known director-producer of Hindi and Gujarati films.
Mahesh Bhatt had recently tweeted, 'My father Nanabhai Bhatt made more than 100 films. He made fantasy & stunt films popular in B & C circuits.'
The German connection
Mahesh Bhatt's second wife Soni Razdan is half German.
She was born in Birmingham, UK, to German mother Gertrude Hoelzer and Kashmiri Pandit father N Razdan.
Around the time Imtiaz Ali and Alia traveled to Berlin for their film Highway's screening at the Berlinale, Mahesh Bhatt tweeted about his wife's German connection.
He tweeted, 'Alia Bhatt has a unique connection with Berlin it's just incredible that her film Highway is premiering in Berlin.
'Many years ago, in 1929 in fact, Alia’s grandmother was born in Berlin. Yes, she’s German. Sadly she had to leave Berlin in 1937. Alia’s great grandfather was running an underground newspaper against Hitler.
'He was found out and imprisoned for two years. So Alia’s grandmother & her mother walked across the border to Czechoslovakia and found sanctuary from persecution as refugees in England!'
Pooja Bhatt's mother
Before Razdan, Mahesh Bhatt was married to Lorriane Bright, who later changed her name to Kiran Bhatt.
She is the mother of Pooja and Rahul Bhatt and Bhatt's 1990 musical hit Aashiqui was inspired from his and Bright’s romance.
The duo fell in love and got married when Bhatt was 20.
The marriage ended when Bhatt had an affair with Parveen Babi in the 1970s.
Mukesh Bhatt's career switch
Mukesh Bhatt started out in the film industry as Smita Patil and Vinod Khanna's secretary.
He would not give a schedule for his star clients until he got the entire remuneration in advance.
Bhatt once met an entrepreneur from Dhanbad, who told him to stop being a secretary to stars and become a producer, assuring him that he would finance his film.
Mukesh Bhatt turned producer with Kabzaa, and the film became a decent hit.
Later, the same entrepreneur also financed Sadak.
Mukesh Bhatt's tiff with Vinod Khanna
Vinod Khanna was known as a very moody. Mukeshji had very cordial relations with him till they worked together on Jurm.
Khanna, who was the lead in the film, cancelled the shooting for 40 consecutive days.
He would call Bhatt and give all kinds of excuses for not showing up on the shoot.
Mukesh Bhatt reportedly got upset and told the media that he would cast his spotboy as a hero, but would never cast Vinod Khanna again!
Pooja on screen
Pooja Bhatt, who started out in the industry as an actress, worked in many of her father's hit films including Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi, Sadak, Daddy, among others.
Pooja Bhatt has used her real first name in most of her father's films she acted in.
The one that got away
Bhatt's second daughter Shaheen Bhatt prefers to stay away from the limelight.
The 20-something has dabbled in all aspects of filmmaking -- from writing a few scenes for Zeher and Jism 2 to being an assistant director for Raaz 3.
The reluctant son
Rahul Bhatt has often spoken openly about his strained relationship with his father, Mahesh Bhatt.
"Perhaps if Mahesh Bhatt had been a father to me, I wouldn't have become friends with (David) Headley.
"My childhood insecurities and the lack of a father-figure during my growing years were things that Mr Headley used to win over my confidence. I was vulnerable. There was no one to guide me," he revealed in an interview.
The fleeting star
The third famous Bhatt -- Robin Bhatt -- is a well known scriptwriter in the industry.
Few would know that he has made fleeting appearances in films like Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke, Gumrah, Dushman, Kartoos, Sunday, U Me Aur Hum, and Golmaal Returns.