A Recap Of Alia Bhatt’s Acceptance Speech At The TIME100 Impact Awards in Singapore

“Good evening. Thank you, TIME, for this honor. Honestly to be awarded here tonight, amongst some of the finest people in the world, feels wonderfully overwhelming. I feel a tiny bit of pressure, pressure to say something intelligent and be good and really make an impact. I have been thinking a lot about what it means to make an impact and I’ve been wondering whether, when I started out, I did so with the intention of making an impact.

And the answer is, yes.

I mean, I think 10 years ago when I started working, all I thought about was how I would one day take over the world. How everyone, everywhere would know who I am and how hardworking and talented and intelligent and bright and flawless I am. I wanted to be perfect and I wanted the world to know it!

Ten years later, I’m receiving one of the most prestigious awards on this global platform. And I have no idea how I got here or what I’ve done to deserve this. But, what I do know is: If it falls to me in any way to lead by example, be a role model or make any kind of impact, I want to do it in as human and as flawed a way as possible. Because, after all these years, the thing I’ve realized is: It’s the flaws that make you. Perfection is boring.

So, tonight, I want to take a moment with you all to celebrate my flaws along with my strengths. For example, I’m terrible at spelling. Like, really bad. But I do know what to say to someone who’s vulnerable. I have no sense of geography. Zero. I do not get directions. But I have a deep sense of respect and regard for different cultures. My general knowledge is widely known to be weak. But my emotional intelligence is something that I’ve worked really hard to cultivate. I have a tendency to be hard on myself with regards to my weight and my appearance. But I never say no to a French fry because, you know, YOLO.

Through my movies and my characters, I’ve tried to celebrate flawed people. Because at the end of the day, it’s the imperfections that make a character compelling. So what I’m trying to say is that being yourself is truly the greatest impact that you could make. In the movies and in life, you do not have to be perfect; you just have to bring everything you have—the lows, the highs and the real things we are actually afraid of speaking about. There’s no greater impact than being yourself.

I want to end with a few thank yous. Thank you to you all for patiently listening to me. Thank you to my team, for constantly being there for me. Thank you to my family; my mom for bringing me on to this planet; my father; my sister Shaheen who has helped put my talks into words; my husband Ranbir. I need to give them separate awards for putting up with me on a daily basis.

I am immensely proud to be here tonight as a representative of my country, a country that has built both me and my career. India is a country that values diversity above anything else, and it’s a song that I hope to sing all over the world. And lastly, when it comes to making an impact, I hope I can continue to do so in whatever way possible. But for now, tonight, this award has genuinely made an impact on me—me and my little one, who has relentlessly kicked me throughout this speech. Thank you so much.”