It has been three years for actor Alaya F in the film industry. Come this Friday and she will have her third film titled Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat releasing after Jawaani Jaaneman (2020) and Freddy (2022). What also makes this romantic drama – which was in the making for four years – special apart from offering her the opportunity to work with filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is the fact that she signed it even before the release of her big screen debut. In the last few years, the world has undergone a drastic change and according to Alaya, so has she.
In an exclusive chat with News18, she talks about growing up immensely and developing a kind of confidence she didn’t know she had before. Talking about how she has learnt to turn down offers now, which is never a cakewalk, Alaya says, “There are so many factors and elements that come into play when you’re saying a yes or a no to a film. It’s tough and also not very tough to say no. I really listen to my gut a lot. But, of course, are times when you say no to a project, it becomes tricky because I’m new.”
Pointing out an episode, she says, “Once when I was about to go into a meeting, someone told me, ‘When you go for a meeting, you’re allowed to have a perspective as well. You aren’t the same girl who hasn’t done any film or doesn’t realise what’s going on. They know that you’ve shot and completed four projects and have moved onto your fifth now. You’ve experience and hence, a perspective now. So, go in there and give your perspective as well.’”
And the incident proved to be an important moment in deciding how she wants to chart out her career trajectory ahead. Alaya explains, “That was quite interesting because I’m usually a person who thinks, ‘How can I say something to someone who has so more experience than I do? I probably won’t know anything in comparison to them.’ But there are these moments when you realise that you’re also running your own career at the end of the day. The decisions I make are going to impact me, my career and my journey forward. So, sometimes, as weird as it feels, you need to be selfish.”
Quiz her if she has figured out a deal-breaker for herself, and the 25-year-old says, “I’m open to pretty much everything. I don’t even mind playing a character that’s grey as long as the overall story resonates with me.”
Her first film was followed by a long lull due to the Covid-19 pandemic and her second release co-starring Kartik Aaryan followed almost two years after her debut. While she is looking forward and raring to carve a niche for herself in the film industry, Alaya reveals that she is equal parts nervous due to the expectations surrounding her now. “It has been three years since my first film released. I do feel like I’m starting again in a lot of ways. I feel more pressure now. When my first film came out, my performance was reviewed really well. Now that three years went by, I feel there’s a lot more expectations from me even though I recently had my second film released. I feel like I should’ve done more work even though I shot for three films in the past couple of years. I’m definitely nervous but I’m more excited than nervous,” says Alaya, who received a thumbs-up for her performance in Freddy, where she played a victim of domestic abuse, and will also be seen in films like U Turn and Sri.
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