Alia recalls Shaheen's hilarious childhood ‘ragebait’ prank while explaining Gen Z slang

Alia Bhatt recently turned to a hilarious childhood memory involving her sister Shaheen Bhatt while trying to explain the Gen Z term “ragebait”. The actor was discussing internet slang with Shaheen during promotions for their upcoming production venture, ‘Don’t Be Shy’.The sisters attended the trailer launch of the coming-of-age film, which follows a group of Gen Z students and features four newcomers in key roles. While Alia and Shaheen managed to identify most of the slang terms they were asked about, “ragebait” left the ‘Alpha’ actor slightly stumped. Alia eventually found an example from her own childhood, recalling a prank Shaheen would repeatedly play on her.

Shaheen Bhatt’s Parle-G prank left Alia Bhatt ‘ragebaited’

Alia explained that Shaheen would deliberately provoke her as a child by claiming that she was not their parents’ biological daughter.

She jokingly connected the prank to the modern concept of ragebait, where someone deliberately says or posts something provocative to trigger an emotional reaction.Recalling the incident, Alia said, “Ragebait is what Shaheen used to do to me as a child. She would say, ‘Alia came free with Parle-G’ and wasn’t the parents’ real child’.”The anecdote gave the sisters a personal example to explain the internet slang while also offering a glimpse into their childhood equation.

Alia Bhatt introduces four newcomers with ‘Don’t Be Shy’

The trailer launch also marked an interesting milestone for Alia, who is now associated with a project introducing four new actors to the industry.Alia made her Bollywood debut with Karan Johar’s ‘Student of the Year’ 14 years ago. With ‘Don’t Be Shy’, she is backing a film led by newcomers Aarushi Bajaj, Piyush Khati, Bianca Arora and Ansh Duggal.

‘Don’t Be Shy’ focuses on Gen Z students

‘Don’t Be Shy’ is a coming-of-age story centred on a group of young students navigating their experiences and relationships.

Its Gen Z setting is also reflected in the film’s promotional campaign, including the discussion around contemporary internet slang. The film is scheduled to premiere on OTT on September 26. The project marks another production venture for Alia and Shaheen.

Alia Bhatt’s next project is ‘Love & War’

On the acting front, Alia was last seen in YRF’s spy-universe film ‘Alpha’, which also starred Sharvari, Bobby Deol and Anil Kapoor in important roles. The film received mixed reviews following its release. Alia’s next major theatrical project is Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period drama ‘Love & War’. The film brings together Alia, Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal in the lead roles. ‘Love & War’ is among the most anticipated Hindi films lined up for 2027 and will reunite Alia and Ranbir on screen while marking a collaboration between the two actors and Vicky Kaushal.