After Alia Bhatt’s appearance at the Cannes Film Festival sparked online debate, her mother Soni Razdan has now reacted to the wave of trolling surrounding the actor’s viral red carpet video.
The discussion began after writer Shunali Khullar Shroff shared a detailed Instagram post defending Alia against the criticism. Alongside the post, she wrote, “Alia Bhatt at Cannes, our bruised national pride over imagined slights, and then glee that a female star was shown her place – some thoughts. #cannes2026.”
In her note, Shunali argued that the backlash was based on a misunderstanding of a brief moment on the red carpet.
“Alia Bhatt wasn’t ignored at Cannes. But India revealed something about itself. A clip went viral showing photographers distracted while Alia posed at Cannes. Within minutes, the internet decided: ‘She got snubbed, the West doesn’t care, she was humbled’. One distracted camera angle and the Indian internet began decoding national humiliation.”
She went on to highlight how people seemed to take pleasure in criticising the actor.
“People weren’t just discussing the clip. They were enjoying it. We are obsessed with Western validation. And equally obsessed with cutting our own stars down to size. Is it not obvious? Cannes red carpets are chaos. Photographers shout, redirect, multitask, miss people, chase bigger arrivals, and adjust angles constantly. This is not the United Nations ranking of global celebrity worth. But no! We must attach meaning to photographers appearing momentarily distracted.”
Shunali also pointed out that many online users mocked Alia with remarks like “she thinks she is international” and “reality check”, adding, “The irony? Alia Bhatt is already one of India’s biggest stars. A national award winner. Global ambassador. International campaigns. Massive films (highly unlikely she’s pegging her worth to your opinion of her Cannes moment). Hate to bring gender into it, but indulge me. We are obsessed with watching successful women “brought down a notch”. You can dislike celebrity culture. You can dislike nepotism debates. You can dislike Cannes influencer excess. But inventing humiliation where there was none says more about us than about her. Maybe the problem isn’t whether Cannes noticed Alia Bhatt. Maybe the problem is how badly we need Cannes to. And how quickly imagined rejection turns into entertainment when the woman involved is successful, visible and admired.”
Soni Razdan later responded in the comments section, writing, “Social media is full of many things – love – information- entertainment- and …. a lot of hate. And more than anything else, it reveals something about society. A very interesting sociological discussion could ensue and be discussed and studied for years to come.”
Alia Slams Trolls
Earlier this week, Alia herself addressed the trolling. After posting a reel of her custom ivory silk saree-gown from Cannes, one user commented, “What a pity, no one noticed you,” followed by a laughing emoji.
Alia replied, “Why pity love? You noticed me :)”
Alia Bhatt Gets Trolled Online
Alia was subjected to online trolling over a viral clip from the Cannes Film Festival 2026.
The viral clip showed Alia posing confidently on the Cannes red carpet, smiling, waving, and blowing kisses. However, social media users claimed that photographers appeared to be focused on other celebrities instead of clicking her pictures.
Alia Bhatt was waving and blowing kisses on the Cannes red carpet, but not a single photographer seemed interested in clicking her photos.😭 pic.twitter.com/BNqeZKzQ7G
— Aditya. (@Adityaverce) May 13, 2026
This marked Alia Bhatt’s second consecutive appearance at the Cannes Film Festival as a global ambassador for L’Oreal Paris.
