Meet actress who made debut at 17, became overnight star, worked with Anupam Kher, Aamir Khan, quit acting at 25 to..., her name is..

Alia Bhatt is a superstar actress who became an overnight star as soon as her debut film was released. However, before Alia Bhatt was even born, her half-sister, Pooja Bhatt, was a superstar who made her film debut at a young age but then quit acting to become a director at the age of 25. Pooja Bhatt was 17 when she made her debut with the TV film Daddy, directed by her father, Mahesh Bhatt. Pooja Bhatt was cast opposite Anupam Kher in this film. Daddy gave Pooja Bhatt much-needed recognition, however, her biggest solo hit and her Bollywood debut came with Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin (1991) opposite Aamir Khan.

In an earlier interview with Siddharth Kannan, Pooja Bhatt spoke about how achieving stardom at a young age impacted her. "After Daddy, Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi, and Sadak were super hits, at the age of 19, I was a superstar and at the age of 24, the industry said 'it's over' so, I said 'Yeh hai Duniya' This is the only industry in India where at the age of 24 when most people are just starting, you have reached the heights of stardom. They have already thrown you into the pit, saying that your work is over," Pooja Bhatt said. 

When opportunities became scarce, Pooja Bhatt quit acting when she was just 25 and ventured into directing. "At the age of 25, I started my own production house, made Tamanna. I got a feeling of self-satisfaction. I traveled across the country meeting people and that film raised money for charity, I got my National Award then I made Dushman with Kajol and then Zakhm," she said. 

Pooja Bhatt stayed away from acting for many years and entered a new phase of her career with directing and producing films. Pooja Bhatt's last theatrical release as a producer was Jism 2, which was released in 2012, and launched Sunny Leone in the film industry. 

In 2021, Pooja Bhatt herself returned to acting with Netflix's Bombay Begums. She added, "I thought it was over for me, and then Alankrita Srivastava and Bornila (Chatterjee) sent me the script of Bombay Begums. I told them I had closed this door and I was no longer an actress. But he asked me to read it. When I read it, I thought it was amazing. I have to play this role. I made a comeback after 21 years." 
 
In 2022, Pooja Bhatt appeared in the film Chup: Revenge of the Artist, and in 2023, she emerged as the 4th runner-up of Bigg Boss OTT 2.

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