&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Breaking the 'Nepo' tag? Alia Bhatt’s Don’t Be Shy to feature outsiders, Karan Johar reacts")
For years, Karan Johar has been accused of favouring star-kids and encouraging nepotism in the film industry. His preference for Alia Bhatt, whom he launched in Student Of The Year in 2012, is still talked about. Now, as Alia herself has turned producer, Karan Johar and Alia got into an interesting banter at the Amazon Slate launch event in Mumbai on Thursday.
At the event Alia and her sister, Shaheen Bhatt, announced their new film Don’t Be Shy, which reportedly launches fresh faces. Karan asked the big question on whether she, like him, had selected a star-kid for the launch. Here’s how Alia and Karan’s conversation panned out.
Karan Johar reacts to Alia Bhatt launching new faces
On Thursday, Alia attended Amazon Prime Video’s event, #ItStartsHere, where the OTT platform unveiled its 2026 slate. One of Prime Video’s upcoming originals is Alia’s Don’t Be Shy. She spoke about the film but shied away from revealing the cast of the film. During the event, KJo told Alia, “You’ve truly mastered the art of being a seasoned producer already, Alia, because your answers seem beautifully independent of my questions for some reason.” Alia replied, “Yes, Karan, because there is a way to launch actors.”
Karan jokingly added, “And clearly I wouldn’t know that, would I? I’ve never done something like that,” referring to how he launched Alia in Bollywood.
Alia responded, “Well, what can I say? We’ve learnt from the best. And the best have always taught us that there is a timing for everything.”
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Karan then went on to ask, “I have a very important question to ask you. It’s crucial and critical and it’s not on the script. Are they outsiders?”
When Alia answered in the affirmative, confirming that she was indeed launching outsiders, Karan said, “I’m so proud of you,” and hugged her as others laughed.
About Don’t Be Shy
Helmed by new director Sreeti Mukerji, the film is produced by Alia and Shaheen under the banner of Eternal Sunshine, in association with Chalkboard Entertainment. It follows the story of Shyamili ‘Shy’ Das, a 20-year-old who believes she has everything figured out until her perfectly planned life takes an unpredictable turn and begins to spiral out of control. The cast and release date are yet to be announced.Alia Bhatt’s next projects
Meanwhile, Alia’s kitty is full as an actor. She is awaiting the release of Alpha which is YRF’s first female led spy film. It also stars Sharvari and has been helmed by Shiv Rawail. The film also features Anil Kapoor and Bobby Deol in key roles. The film is scheduled to release in theatres on July 10, 2026.
Apart from this, she also has Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War in the pipeline, which is currently under production. The film also stars Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal.
