Alia Bhatt’s Letter On How Much She Loves Mumbai Will Touch The Heart Of Every Mumbaikar!

Mumbai.

The city which has the best of the best and the worst of the worst.

But once you start warming up to the city, the city warms up to you, it no longer remains a hostile beast but a noisy companion in the journey of life. Alia Bhatt, the versatile actress who is proving her mettle with each and every role she takes up, wrote a letter to the city she loves and it’s very eye opening of how deep it is.

Talking about Mumbai- the city that never sleeps, she remembers that it is a land of dreams even if they come true or not, it dares to be.

 

Mumbaikars are always in a hurry. So much so that they forget the magic the city has.

“Being a Mumbaikar, who was born and brought up in the city, I’ve come across these phrases time and again. But how often do we actually sit and reflect on them?”

 

She is a true bred Mumbai girl, born, brought up and fed.

 

She delves into the foodie nature of hers and so much the city has to offer on your platter.

“Actually, I was fed all over the city, since I eat everywhere. But the big question is — what makes me a true Mumbaikar?”

 

She wonders about what it really means to be a Mumbaikar, and it indeed is loving and hating  at the same time, the hate also comes from a place of love.

 

She talks about the two sides of the Mumbai rains which are a news of joy and sorrow at the same time for the city.

“Talking of that, I must admit that I used to love it when we would bunk school because of waterlogging, but hated the same floods when we lost so many lives in the July 26 tragedy.”

 

There never is just one reason ever, is it? 🙂

 

What does living in the city mean to an actor, is it really superficial for them to call this city their home?

“Jaan means life and Mumbai is synonymous with life. One would imagine that the perspective of an actor towards his or her city would be superficial, largely made up of studios, parties and suites at hotels across the city. But I beg to differ.”

 

She understands the different worlds that are within Mumbai and she’s proud of the city because the difficulties make the magic happen.

 

She talks about Mumbai’s biggest haunts for youngsters and she being a celebrity, is and hasn’t been alien to them.

“We have the markets of Colaba Causeway and Hill Road (Bandra), where every young girl has dreams of transforming herself into a fashionista with one strut down the road. These are places where even I have shopped a number of times.We also have our famous Nana Nani parks. I love how they’re called that. They are so subtle with their attributes.”

 

She speaks about her aspirations of becoming as big a name as Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, their celebrity status is just the tip of the iceberg she has to climb.

 

Mumbai’s food life is on point and who better to tell you than a self-acclaimed foodie?

“And, of course, the food is worth talking about. According to me, we’re not known so much for our food, but for our food joints — Shiv Sagar, Bademiya (Colaba), Amar Juice Centre (Juhu), Qualities Frankie (Andheri), Chaat Wala on the 6th Road (Juhu), Nandu Dosa Wala (Juhu) and all our gola-waalas.”

 

Her profession requires her to diet therefore food is almost everything her mind can think of at any given instance.

 

The landmarks make the city worth visiting indeed, but the real magic is elsewhere, says Alia.

“I might have missed out on our historical gateways, the aquarium and the famous Hanging Gardens (Malabar Hill), which are lovely and great. But what I wanted to talk about were the other things that make this city what it is… and that’s the spirit of this city. The spirit, more than anything else, is made up of energies.”

 

This is what is real Mumbai.

Once a Mumbaikar, always a Mumbaikar. <3

Source

Cover Image Source