Alia is opening up about why she feels the need to be so conservative in her private life.

Mumbai-born Alia Bhatt is India’s latest breakout movie star. The 23-year-old continues to receive praise for her recent starring role in Udta Punjab where she plays Kumari Pinky, a girl raped and then forced into drug addiction.

And yet despite all of Alia’s success, she isn’t swarmed by paparazzi. The press doesn’t talk about her love life and and social media doesn’t debate her latest fling. Now Alia is opening up about why she feels the need to be so conservative in her private life.

Talking with the Huffington Post, she revealed,

“In India, you are a part of a society that’s very judgmental. Here, girls having multiple boyfriends is still a huge-ass deal and something that is frowned upon.

I mean, look at Taylor Swift. She’s dated, like, everybody. But if she was here, she’d be totally shamed for making those choices. Her image and appeal would be very different. The reason actresses don’t talk about their private lives is because in our society there is a lot of slut-shaming. Eventually, I have a responsibility and I have to protect myself.”

She also added, “It’s important that I am seen in a certain way, it’s just the way it is.”

Although Alia did not discuss whether, if she had her choice, she would like to be more open with her love life, she did discuss what motivates her to keep quite.

“You know, the fear is of losing a lot and you must understand that it is quite a genuine fear.

You never know who you’ll end up upsetting. Which film you stand to lose or which brand you’ve somehow managed to upset for something that you said. And it extends beyond relationships, to a host of other issues which we may feel passionately about but that require censoring.”

We can’t imagine what kind of pressure Alia must feel every day. Although celebrities in America also have a ton of pressure put on them as well, it must be stressful to constantly censor yourself in public. We’re glad that the actress felt comfortable enough to speak honestly about her culture’s expectations and open up about her life in Mumbai.

[related_post themes=”flat”]