Shaheen Bhatt Reveals Childhood Prank That Made Young Alia Question Her Place In The Family

Actor Alia Bhatt recently shared a humorous childhood memory involving her sister Shaheen Bhatt while discussing the idea of “ragebait” at the trailer launch of her production Don’t Be Shy for Prime Video. The trailer was unveiled at an event in Mumbai on Friday evening, where Alia was asked to speak about the meaning of ragebait and whether she had encountered the concept in her own life. Instead of referring to social media, she recalled how her sister would deliberately provoke her when they were children. Alia revealed that Shaheen once repeatedly told her that she was not actually the biological child of their parents, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and actor Soni Razdan.

Recalling the incident, Alia explained that Shaheen used the claim as a way of teasing her when she was very young. At around four years old, Alia was apparently young enough to take her elder sister’s words seriously, allowing Shaheen’s prank to have the reaction she wanted. The actor described the episode in the context of ragebait, a term now commonly used for content or comments deliberately designed to provoke anger, outrage or an emotional response. In the sisters’ case, however, the tactic existed as childhood teasing long before social media made the term widely popular.

The prank reportedly involved Shaheen telling Alia that she was not really Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan’s daughter. For a young child, such a statement could easily be confusing, particularly when it came from an older sibling. Alia’s recollection turned the childhood episode into a light-hearted story about the way sisters can push each other’s buttons. The detail that Shaheen would tell her she had effectively “come free with Parle-G” added to the playful nature of the memory and illustrated how imaginative sibling teasing can become a lasting family anecdote.

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Alia’s comments also offered a glimpse into the relationship she shares with Shaheen. The two sisters have spoken publicly about their bond over the years, and Shaheen has frequently remained a familiar presence in Alia’s life away from the film sets. Their childhood dynamic, as described by Alia, involved the kind of teasing and mischief common between siblings, with Shaheen finding ways to get a reaction from her younger sister. What might have seemed upsetting or believable to Alia at the age of four eventually became something she could look back on with amusement.

The story emerged during a promotional event for Don’t Be Shy, which Alia is associated with as a producer for Prime Video. The trailer launch brought attention to the project while also prompting conversations around the actor’s personal experiences. Asked specifically about ragebait, Alia chose a memory from her childhood rather than discussing the phenomenon only in the context of contemporary internet culture. Her response demonstrated how the basic idea of deliberately provoking someone for a reaction can exist outside online platforms and can even appear in everyday family interactions.

Alia and Shaheen are the daughters of Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan, and both have pursued creative careers in different ways. Alia has built a major acting career in Hindi cinema while also moving into production, expanding her involvement in projects beyond performing. Shaheen has worked in writing and creative fields and has maintained a relatively private public profile compared with her sister. Alia’s anecdote about being told she was not their parents’ child therefore offered a rare, personal glimpse into their early years together. The story also showed how a teasing remark that once had the power to unsettle a four-year-old eventually became a funny memory that Alia could share publicly, decades later.

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