An actor, a singer and an animal lover, Alia Bhatt has won hearts across the globe. From defending animals in need to encouraging people to choose animal-friendly fashion, Alia has been an inspiration. To celebrate her advocacy for dogs and cats in need and her work in support of an animal-friendly fashion industry, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has named Bollywood star Alia Bhatt its 2021 Person of the Year.
“Alia Bhatt is not only helping to advance vegan fashion but also encouraging the next generation to be kind to animals,” says PETA India Director of Celebrity and Public Relations Sachin Bangera. “Alia doesn’t hesitate to speak up, whether she’s rallying her fans to adopt a dog or cat or calling for action on crimes against animals.”
Alia had also set up a program titled Coexist which is a platform that highlights and works towards the issues of animal and ecological welfare. Their mission is to educate and engage communities to build a future in which man and nature live together in harmony. Sharing her vision with the world through Coexist, the actor wrote, “I believe that each one of us has a personal responsibility to our planet. And since animals, plants, oceans have no voice of their own, we should speak up for them as well. Coexist is a program I’ve set up with a vision that man lives in harmony with animals and nature.”
Earlier this year, Alia’s vegan kidswear line, Ed-a-Mamma, also won a 2021 PETA India fashion award for helping nurture kid’s love for animals and nature. That’s not all, Alia had invested in Phool, the company behind Fleather, a vegan leather made from discarded temple flowers. She also previously starred in a pro-adoption PETA India campaign to help cats and dogs and has used her platform to call for stronger animal protection laws.
Past recipients of PETA India’s Person of the Year Award include Dr Shashi Tharoor, for supporting Compassionate Citizen, PETA India’s humane education programme for children, as well as other education on animal protection; former Supreme Court Justice KS Panicker Radhakrishnan, for the landmark judgement against the use of bulls in performances; cricketer Virat Kohli, for calling for the release of an abused elephant and stronger penalties for animal abusers; comedian Kapil Sharma, for encouraging people to adopt dogs; and actors John Abraham, Anushka Sharma, Sunny Leone, R Madhavan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Hema Malini, and Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, for helping animals in various ways.
