There was a time when Alia Bhatt had the worst reviewed performance among the three star-debutantes in Student of the Year. There was a time when she was more known for the jokes that online trolls made on her for one little gaffe. Now, this is a time when Alia Bhatt is considered as one of the finest actresses in the industry and she is just 25!

She may still be considered as a product of nepotism, but Alia has moved way beyond that tag with consistent power-packed performances with every release of hers. Her detractors are looking for one misstep of hers, a bad performance so that they can begin the trolling. But the youngest daughter of director Mahesh Bhatt is giving them no reason to do so. Her latest movie, Raazi, has her deliver perhaps the finest performance by any star-kid of her generation. (Raazi Movie Review: Alia Bhatt Gives a Power-Packed Performance in Meghna Gulzar's Smartly Directed Spy Thriller)

In this special feature, we will look at five most incredible performances of Alia Bhatt that could label her the best actress of her generation, ranked from the best to, well, less best.

Raazi

Alia plays an Indian spy married to a Pakistani military officer during the '71 Indo-Pak war. In this brilliantly directed realistic espionage drama, the entire responsibility of carrying the movie rests on the slender shoulders of Alia Bhatt. To utter relief, she does an absolutely magnificent job at that, showing the grim determination, desperate haplessness and heroic demeanour that her character needs to possess. There is no doubt that, looking at the stakes, this is easily her best performance to date!

Udta Punjab

In a movie with three other stars and with Shahid Kapoor threatening to steal the spotlight with a drug-fuelled rockstar act, it is amazing that we find a deglam Alia Bhatt to be the real MVP of the movie. Playing an unnamed Bihari migrant who gets brutally raped after getting in trouble with drug mafia, Alia Bhatt handles her character with the right amount of sensitivity and fierceness. There is nary a note wrong in that act that will make us wonder why KJo couldn't give her more to do in Student of the Year.

Dear Zindagi

Despite the presence of Shah Rukh Khan in an extended cameo, Dear Zindagi is an Alia Bhatt show, all the way. And she makes full use of the opportunity to shine in one of her more complex roles, even when the writing doesn't exactly support her.

Highway

I am sure there might be many like me who might have written off Alia Bhatt as another pretty face launched by Karan Johar. But then that opinion got a huge jolt when Imtiaz Ali made Highway and showed the world that there is an incredible actress in Alia Bhatt. There might be rawness in her performance, and she is often upstaged by the terrific Randeep Hooda.

Badrinath Ki Dulhania

Even though it may be promoted as a typical Karan Johar potboiler, Badrinath Ki Dulhania surprised us with its discussion of the need of women empowerment in rural areas. Both Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt were great in their roles, though the former has an edge over the latter considering he shares the movie's outlook. As the small-town girl with big-world ambitions, Alia nails both the accent and the intent right for the character.u

Agree with our feature? Do you believe we missed out on some better performances of Alia? Share your thoughts below.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 11, 2018 06:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).