Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 8, 2016)
When Alia 'Aloo' Bhatt was a little girl, she would spend many evenings with friends, Akansha and Anushka Ranjan, swimming in a rooftop pool of a Juhu building. The building shared a wall with veteran actor Ranjeet's plush bungalow, and his kids often joined the trio for badminton sessions.Fast forward to 2016, Alia has bought a flat in the same building, which is now owned by her 'Ranjeet uncle'. “It's a short walk from her current residence. Alia will be in Delhi to promote her upcoming film on her birthday, March 15, and I'll be in Dubai so we'll party in her new home when we're back. The theme will be Bollywood for obvious reasons,“ smiles Anushka who recalls being the group's mother hen with Alia and Akansha often seek ing her advice as kids.
“We still go out for lunches and dinners. It's hard to see Aloo as a superstar. For me, she's still my little sister. I have known her since she was six minutes old,“ she laughs. The “double dhamaka bash“ as she describes it, will take place towards the end of the month.When Mirror had first contacted Alia about the house in June 2015, she'd revealed that Queen director Vikas Bahl's wife, Richa, a leading interior designer who designed Kangana Ranaut's new home last year had been working on hers as well.
Meanwhile, daddy Mahesh Bhatt had said about his youngest me daughter's decision to move out of his house, “I have always admired her ability to walk on her own two feet. Alia is a self-made individual and there is nothing more gratifying for parents than to see their child grow on their own. She has the right to be different, and we must value that. For me, my home is where Alia is.“