Exclusive| Alia Bhatt reveals Ranbir Kapoor is ‘specific’ about Raha’s fashion choices, says dad-daughter ‘entertain’ each other: ‘Fatherhood comes naturally to him’

“Nothing really surprised me,” Alia Bhatt told Indianexpress.com when asked if there was an aspect of Ranbir Kapoor as a father that she didn’t see coming. The actor said even if something did spring as a surprise, it wasn’t like she “wasn’t expecting it.”

“I always inherently felt that he was going to be a wonderful father. The bond that they share is of much fun and… They are just so much fun together. Raha and Ranbir are always troubling each other, pulling each other’s legs, they have the funniest conversations, and they make each other laugh!”

“One of the things which I didn’t see coming was how specific Ranbir is about Raha’s fashion choices! I have to go and ask him, ‘Ranbir, what should Raha wear for this today?’ Then he will come, rummage into the wardrobe and put it together. He gets so involved deeply into that. You’d think that I’d be the one dressing her up, but I am like no, leave it up to him! He will do it really well.”

Alia Bhatt at the book launch. (PR Handout).

On Sunday, Alia Bhatt launched her debut Ed Finds a Home, published by Penguin. Written in collaboration with Vivek Kamath and Shabnam Minwalla, with illustrations by Tanvi Bhat, it is the first book in The Adventures of Ed-a-Mamma series.

Alia, who was speaking on the sidelines of the event, said she often marvels at the way Ranbir comes up with “creative ways” to play with their daughter, who will turn two this November. It is a sight, Alia Bhatt says, which often leaves her in awe, making her realise all the more just how comfortable Ranbir is as a father.

“I was watching a reel recently and it said that there is a certain release of this oxytocin in your brain with father and daughter when they play and have fun. Mom and daughter can have fun together as well but there is a different level of fun that father-daughter have. Mother-daughter is perhaps more about sleeping, feeding, nurturing. That’s my safe space, I am happy doing that. But when it comes to creative ways of having fun, it is. I can’t even think of the creative ways he uses to entertain her and in turn she entertains him.

“So, I always expected this, but this creativity is a surprise on a day-to-day basis. He is just wonderful, in a basic, simple, primal way. He doesn’t even have to try too hard; it just naturally comes to him,” she added.

The book, which Alia has co-authored, introduces young readers to a world where a little girl embarks on a heartwarming adventure to rescue an abandoned little dog. On the film front, Alia will be next seen in Karan Johar backed jailbreak drama thriller Jigra, Yash Raj Film’s next spy universe film and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love and War, where she will co-star with Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal.