She made her Bollywood debut in 2020, right before the pandemic struck.
The lockdown slowed things down on the work front for Alaya F, but she is optimistic that life will get back on track soon.
The young actress who stepped into Bollywood with Jawaani Jaaneman won appreciation and awards for her performance.
Now, Alaya says that she is eagerly waiting to showcase her potential as an artiste in her upcoming projects.
In a candid chat with BT, she speaks up about how she is gearing up to get going again, dealing with the competition to bag a project and her recent link-up rumours.
Excerpts:
Soon after your debut film released, the lockdown was announced, and just when it looked like things were getting back to normal, the second wave hit hard.
How have you handled the phase the second time around?
In the lockdown last year, the pandemic was new for all of us.
We tried to take stock of the situation.
However, the
second wave, which was way too harsh, hit closer home.
Many people I knew fell ill, and it felt like it wasn’t going to end any time soon.
After the first lockdown, I was excited as I received the Best Debut Female Filmfare Award.
I looked forward to brighter things, but we found ourselves heading for another lockdown.
Of course, I can’t be selfish talking about myself and my career, especially when one saw people suffer so much.
The situation was such that your issues felt trivial compared to what other people went through.
In 2020, everyone was more active on social media and came up with creative ways to spend time in the lockdown at home.
But this time around, it felt insensitive to post anything on social media.
So, it was more about looking within and taking care of your body and mind.
With film shoots resuming gradually, are you feeling optimistic about your professional life getting backon track?
I am eager to show the audience more of my acting skills.
My character in Jawaani Jaaneman was so much like the real me.
I am glad people saw the potential in me and have offered me projects with different and exciting parts.
I have very interesting choices to make by picking up from these varied projects.
I hope I choose wisely and do justice to the roles.
I am excited to go back on the sets and start shooting.
I am far more optimistic now than I was three months ago.
What’s in store for you now? There’s buzz that the makers of your first film have roped you for a new project.
There’s also news that you will be seen in Rhea Kapoor’s next production opposite Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor.
I am not at liberty to talk about my forthcoming projects, but I must say a lot of amazing stuff is coming up.
As far as the latter part of the question is concerned, well, it’s not true.
They (Rhea and Harsh Varrdhan) are wonderful people and I have known Harsh for a long time.
He is very well-versed in all things related to movies and it is always fun to have a chat with him.
After a feature film, I did a music video and would also like to explore the digital space.
I am looking at doing everything and don’t want to restrict myself as a performer to one medium.
With the digital medium, there’s a large number of new actors stepping into showbiz along with youngsters from families that belong to the industry.
Do you think the competition is only getting tougher here?
I feel competition is very important as it only raises the quality of work.
I believe in the process of testing (screen tests) because you discover talent – be it from the inside or outside the industry – that’s actually meant to play these roles.
If you don’t get a film, that’s because you don’t fit the vision of the filmmaker.
Sometimes it is disheartening if you don’t get a project that you are dying to do.
Between the outsiders and the insiders, one should not forget the privilege the latter have, and it should be acknowledged.
I had said to the media earlier too, that even in our struggle we are privileged.
Irrespective of whether you are an actor from the industry or outside, you must have the hunger to just prove yourself and do better.
At the end of the day, these are the people that really end up making a mark.
So, as far as the competition is concerned, it has never really bothered me.
In fact, it has helped me to do better.
An actor’s personal life is always in the spotlight, and that’s happened in your case, too.
There were reports about you dating Aaishvary Thackeray (Smita Thackeray’s son).
Is there any truth to it? How do you handle such stories?
If you are being talked about, that’s always great! You shouldn’t take these reports too seriously.
Aaishvary is a wonderful friend and an extremely talented person.
These stories used to spark curiosity amongst my near and dear ones, but now even they are used to it.
As far as my personal life is concerned, I don’t stress about it as much as I do about my professional life.
I feel your personal life should fall into place naturally.
You should only work on being the best version of yourself every day.
That’s what I did throughout the lockdown.
It was all about me thinking about myself and not about any other person (laughs!).
