‘Why pity, love?’: Alia Bhatt’s graceful reply to trolls over Cannes ‘ignored’ claims

A viral video on social media showed Alia posing, waving and blowing kisses on the red carpet. However, a section of netizens claimed photographers were focusing on other celebrities instead of clicking her pictures.

Commenting on one of her Instagram posts, a user wrote, “What a pity no one noticed you.”

Alia responded, “Why pity love? You noticed me :).”

Photo: Screen-grab/X

Even before this, the actor had faced criticism from a section of social media users after questioning the male-oriented nature of many Indian films, contrasting it with trends in the global cinema.

Several users accused her of hypocrisy by linking her remarks to her earlier praise for husband Ranbir Kapoor’s blockbuster Animal.

Alia’s remarks at Cannes

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter India at Cannes, Alia said global cinema has increasingly catered to women audiences, unlike the male-oriented trends often seen in the Indian film industry.

“When I look at the landscape today, I think we are in a fascinating phase. If we truly examine the global box office, some of the films that have performed phenomenally over the last few years — like Barbie, Wuthering Heights and The Devil Wears Prada 2 — have had women as their primary audience, and they have gone on to become massive successes,” she said.

Highlighting trends in India, the 33-year-old actor added, “But in India, whenever we talk about box office numbers, there is a recurring argument that nearly 75 percent of moviegoers are men, so films need to cater to the ‘mass audience’. That conversation comes up very often. But if we are only catering to men, then what happens to women in the audience?”

“I am not saying we should alienate men. My question is: why should we alienate anyone at all? Why should storytelling cater to one gender? I believe films should be gender-agnostic, where storytelling takes centre stage. Whether a film stars a man or a woman should not matter — what should matter is the story being told,” she added.

Netizens call out ‘hypocrisy’

A section of social media users criticised Alia’s remarks, pointing to her earlier appreciation of Animal, which had faced criticism for allegedly glorifying toxic masculinity.

Some users also recalled how Alia had earlier said she was called “Lady Amitabh Bachchan” after the success of Gangubai Kathiawadi, which won her the National Film Award.