Alia Bhatt on Facing Anxiety about Daughter Raha, having Good and Bad Days as a Mom

 

As we know, Alia in new at embracing motherhood as she welcomed her baby girl Raha last year in November. Like every new working mother she was also asked about how she balances it all, to this she replied that she is a bit of a ‘control freak’ and likes to keep everything in check but that becomes a bit difficult when a baby comes into the picture.

Speaking about how she balances everything after the marriage and baby she said,  “I’m not putting too much pressure on either Raha or myself to be together as a family unit with Ranbir all the time. She’s just five months old and I’m so impressed with how well-behaved and peaceful she is. And on days when she isn’t, that’s fine too, because she’s a baby and has the right to have good and bad days. Similarly, I, as a mum, have the right to have great and terrible days too—even though it’s very difficult for me to not have it together at all times because I’m such a control freak. I always want to ace things and usually have everything under check. I guess what grounds me is how passionate I am about my work.”

She also confessed about feeling the mother's guilt while leaving Raha for work and how she feels the pressure of doing good as both a mother and actor. 

“It does make me anxious to think whether I am doing right by my baby and work. There’s so much pressure on women to ace both…almost like this old-school dogma that once you have a baby, you have to martyr your career or you’re not a model mum. It’s very important for new mothers to get that time off work to gather their bearings, and it’s equally crucial for corporations and industries to grant them that time instead of writing them off,” she said.

“I’m always wondering what people are thinking. Do they actually think I’m managing well or are they only saying it to placate me? Even if there isn’t judgement, you feel very critical of yourself. But I work hard at my mental health—I go to therapy every week where I voice these fears. And it helps me understand that this is not something that I will be able to figure out on day one or five or even ten; it’s an ever-evolving, ever-growing process. You have to be able to pick up the pieces of yourself and build anew every day. There’s nothing like, ‘Oh I’ve got it together… I’m coping excellently… I have all the answers.’ No one has all the answers."

After Brahmastra, Alia has been on her maternity leave. Though she had started with some work, it seems like we have some time to see her fully into shoots and films. She has a few projects coming up like Rocky aur Rani ki Prem Kahani and more.