Soni Razdan reacts as trolls claim daughter Alia was ignored at Cannes

Actor Soni Razdan has now reacted to the online trolling surrounding daughter Alia Bhatt’s appearance at the Cannes Film Festival 2026. She weighed in on the viral debate that turned a brief red-carpet moment into days of internet discourse.

Responding to writer Shunali Khullar Shroff's Instagram post defending Alia, Soni wrote, "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 (sic)."

Her comment arrived after social media spent days dissecting a viral Cannes clip in which Alia was seen smiling, waving and blowing kisses on the red carpet while photographers appeared momentarily distracted. The internet quickly interpreted the few-second moment as a "snub," with some users claiming the actor had been ignored by international media.

But as the clip spread online, the reactions began revealing something larger than just celebrity gossip.

What could have remained an ordinary chaotic Cannes red-carpet moment soon transformed into a conversation about validation, misogyny, celebrity culture and the strange satisfaction social media often derives from watching famous women seemingly "brought down a notch."

Alia Bhatt's Cannes moment dissected

That was precisely the argument Shunali Khullar Shroff made in her now widely shared Instagram note. Beginning her post with the line, "Alia Bhatt at Cannes, our bruised national pride over imagined slights, and then glee that a female star was shown her place," the writer argued that the backlash said more about public attitudes than about Alia’s actual reception at Cannes.

"Alia Bhatt wasn't ignored at Cannes. But India revealed something about itself," she wrote, pointing out how quickly online users converted one distracted camera angle into what she described as a story of "national humiliation."

Shunali also questioned why so many people appeared to enjoy the narrative. According to her, the discourse wasn't simply about whether photographers clicked Alia's pictures, it reflected a deeper obsession with Western validation, coupled with a tendency to celebrate perceived rejection when it involves a successful female celebrity.

She further explained in her post that the Cannes red carpets are famously chaotic, crowded and constantly shifting, with photographers calling out to multiple celebrities simultaneously. She argued that the clip was treated almost like a final decision on Alia's international relevance.

The irony, as Shunali noted, is that Alia already occupies one of the most visible positions in Indian cinema - a National Award-winning actor, major box office star and global ambassador for L'Oreal Paris, attending Cannes for the second consecutive year.

Alia Bhatt trolls the trolls

Even Alia herself addressed the trolling earlier this week with a response many social media users described as subtly savage. After a user commented on her Cannes reel saying, “What a pity, no one noticed you,” the actor replied, “Why pity love? You noticed me :)"

This was Alia's second consecutive appearance at Cannes. The actor made her debut at the international film festival last year as one of the brand ambassadors for L'Oreal Paris.

Back home, she is awaiting the release of her spy film, YRF's Alpha, alongside Sharvari, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Love and War, in which she stars alongside her husband and actor Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal.