Bollywood actress Alaya F, who is seen in many commercial films now, is impressing everyone with her acting in the recent release ‘Srikanth’.
In an exclusive chat with Moneycontrol.com, Alaya F spoke about many things, including her last release, which was a big banner movie, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, and what she gained professionally from the movie.
She was also asked about whether she takes career advice from her mother, Pooja Bedi, or her grandfather and veteran actor, Kabir Bedi.
The actress says she never takes any advice from any of her family members, as she wants to be accountable for whatever she does in her professional life.
“On the career front, I have refrained from taking family advice. I will take an opinion; I handle my career pretty independently. No one from my family has been on a set with me, not even an ad shoot, not a magazine—not even a single day of any of my shoots. No one sits with me in meetings. It has always been me and my team. I like it that way, as it keeps me accountable for my choices. Now, if I have made a choice that is fully mine, whether it works out or not, I have no one to blame if it works or not. Versus someone else making those choices. Also, the more choices you make, the more you learn. On that front, I still make my choices, and I still handle my work. It is just that I like to be accountable for my choices,” she told us exclusively.
Alaya also said that initially she didn’t want to be an actor for a very long time. Alaya says she has a different perspective than her mother.
“Firstly, I didn't want to be an actor for a very long time, and when I decided to become an actor, I was in a completely different zone from when my mom was an actor. My mother and I are very different people in the way—the beliefs we have, the way we look. We are quite different in a lot of ways. I always knew my career choices and trajectory were going to be different. Also, time and industry have changed quite drastically. I just take it day by day. I say never, say never, and never say yes too early. From day one, I have said, Take it day by day,” said Alaya.
Talking about ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’ not doing as well as was expected out of it on the box office, Alaya said she has gotten a larger reach thanks to the movie, where she got to work with the likes of Akshay Kumar, director Imtiaz Ali, and Tiger Shroff.
Alaya says she gained a lot from the movie.
“It has generally gotten larger in my reach thanks to a movie like 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.' I mean, for the scale of the film, maybe it didn't make numbers everyone was hoping it would, but it still made money and people still saw it. It is a totally new audience that had perhaps never seen me before and got to see me. And that was really great for me. So, all said and done, I still managed to get a lot out of it. I got to work with people like Akshay sir, Tiger sir, and Ali sir. I got to do my action, sing masala songs, and be a part of that space. I had a great time. I still got a lot from the film,” she said.
Alaya had earlier said during the release of her film ‘U Turn’ that she was looking to do more massy roles as she wanted to increase her reach to the two-tier cities as well. Ask her, and pat comes the reply. “By massy film, I mean, a film like 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan'. A film that is larger than life entertainer in some way. Just because that is something that connects with audiences all over India. A lot of my films have gotten love and appreciation, like ‘Freddy’ and ‘Jawani Janeman', but these weren't massy films. People saw them, and I got a lot of love and appreciation from them, but they were relatively more urban centers. Just being a part of films that are a little less urban and doing more films that can connect with the masses—that's something I continue to look forward to alongside films and scripts that are not specifically in that zone, but also, you never really know what is massy and what is not. "I'm hoping to do good work and keep reaching more and more people,” she says.
Alaya further said that more and more people are now recognizing her after the release of ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’ where she played the role of Pam.
“I definitely think that post ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan' has a new audience for sure. I obviously have a long way to go. But I definitely did bring a lot of new people, not only to my social media but generally to the people that you meet, and when you go out to restaurants, I have seen it change,” she added.
Her contemporaries like Jahnvi Kapoor and Mrunal Thakur have ventured down south; when asked if she is open to making that move, she says, “100 percent. I am open to anything and everything. I am one of those people who is open to just about anything, as long as it is the right part with the right people. So, 100 percent, I would love to do it again; it fits in with the goal of reaching more people to see what it is that I do.”
Alaya’s latest release, Srikanth, opened to a positive response from the critics, and Rajkummar Rao is being praised for acing the role.
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