Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor's first pic together from Balika Vadhu screen test 18 years ago is finally revealed

Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor's fans have discovered a much-talked-about picture of the two that no one had ever seen. Alia has talked in the past about how she had once given a screen test for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's shelved movie Balika Vadhu. Alia was 11 at the time and has clicked some shots with Ranbir (then 20), who was an assistant director on Bhansali's Black. She even spoke about how Bhansali framed the picture and gifted it to her, which holds a special meaning now that she is married to Ranbir. (Also read: Ranbir Kapoor's fans are swooning at this unseen picture from wedding reception: 'Alia Bhatt, you won')

While Alia never shared the picture with her fans, they appear to have discovered it on their own.

On Saturday, Alia shared a video on her YouTube channel about her 30 days of Gangubai Kathiawadi promotions. In one of the scenes, fans saw the Balika Vadhu screen test picture resting on a shelf at Alia's home. The video has been removed from her channel now but sly fans have already clicked some screenshots.

The black and white photo shows Ranbir in the forefront with a young Alia resting her head on his shoulder. She appears to be wearing a saree. While fans got to see the photo for the first time, a few also felt uncomfortable about their large age gap and how Alia was ‘literally a child’ when the picture was clicked. However, Balika Vadhu was supposed to be about child marriages.

Alia spoke about the picture and the shoot during a promotional event for her 2014 film Highway. She said that Bhansali sensed special chemistry even then. “Bhansali sir was saying I was flirting with Ranbir,” she said.

Ranbir also spoke about the same in 2017 at the Lokmat Maharashtrian of the year Awards. He said, "Not many people know that Alia and me were actually going to debut together when Sanjay Ji was making a film called Balika Vadhu. We had also done a photoshoot together and since then, I have been a fan of her.”

Alia replied, “Yes, what he’s saying is correct. When I met Ranbir for the first time, I was 11-years-old. He was assisting Sanjay Leela Bhansali and I had to do a photoshoot with him. And I was so shy that I had to keep my head on his shoulder and I could not do it.”

Alia and Ranbir actually got to work together for the first time on Ayan Mukerji's Brahmastra. They fell for each other in 2017, dated for five years and finally got married on April 14 in an intimate ceremony at their Mumbai home.