Exclusive | Alaya F on completing 4 years in industry: ‘My contemporaries got lucky because they debuted a little before

Alaya F gets in an exclusive chat with midday.com

Alaya F made her Bollywood debut with the film ‘Jawaani Jaaneman' in 2020. She is the daughter of Pooja Bedi and granddaughter of Kabir Bedi. The actress who recently completed four years in the industry, shared insights about her film choices, the influence of having a filmy background, comparisons with contemporaries and much more in an exclusive chat with midday.com.

When asked about what dictates her choice of film and whether she considers the commercial aspect, script, or critical acclaim, Alaya said, "For me, it's the co-actor, the producer, the director, and the script. At least two things have to align; if two out of these four align, it's a project I'm interested in. If less than two things align, then it's not something I'm interested in. All my films have had at least two of these things align, whether it's sometimes the script and the co-actor, sometimes the director, or sometimes all. I think it's mainly that, and then a lot of gut feeling, and finding the right opportunities. You have to make the most out of it, fight for the opportunities you're getting, and fight for the opportunities you're not getting, and then just hope for the best."

Coming from a family with a legacy in the film industry, Alaya addressed whether it influenced her choices, stating, "It influenced my choice to not want to be an actor after that. So, ever since I did decide to be a part of this industry, I decided that I wanted to do it my way. My mother, my grandfather, my father - everyone really respected the fact that I wanted to make this my journey and make my own choices. They've always been there if I ever wanted advice or an opinion. But I feel like I've carried a pretty independent career so far. They've never really put any sort of pressure on me; they've just trusted me and let me handle my career the way I saw fit, and they've just been very proud."

Addressing the challenge of maintaining a balance between personal and social media life in a world where people want to know everything about their favorite actors, Alaya shared, "You know, I'm pretty authentic with my social media. Of course, I don't post all of my life on my social media, but whatever I post is very authentic, correct, and true to my life. I filter it by just posting what I want to post and putting out what I want to put out. Social media may reflect 20% of my life, so right? 20% of what goes on goes on social media; the rest is for me to keep. That's how I keep my balance, and, you know, I enjoy it. But, you know, I recognize that it's a part of my job more than a joy. I don't know; I just take it day by day. There are days when I get very frustrated with social media; there are days where I really enjoy it. But one thing you can't deny is that social media, especially in today's day and age, holds a lot of power. Exactly. So, I give it the respect that it deserves and the time and attention and energy that it gives me, right? Other than that, I just take it one day at a time."

In the competitive world where comparison has become common, Alaya addressed whether she compares herself with her contemporaries, stating, "Of course, you do, but there are so many factors involved in someone's journey. One being the time period when you debut; my contemporaries got lucky because they debuted a little before, so they got to cement their places before the pandemic hit. Luck is a factor, connections are a factor, but no matter what the factors are, you can only compare your journey to someone else's so much because, at the end of the day, all of us are doing very different work, working on our own types of projects, and everyone is just trying to do their best. That's what I'm trying to do."

For the unversed Alaya, who made her debut with Jawaani Janeman, will next be seen in Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff starrer ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan'

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