Alaya F: My confidence comes from the fact that I’ve grown up in a family that’s outspoken

She is sassy, confident and strikes you as someone who has come prepped and ready to find her spot among the stars. In a chat with BT, Pooja Bedi’s daughter, Alaya F, talks about how she owes her confidence to her ‘outspoken family’, the initial rejections she faced and how the lockdown broke the momentum, post a successful landing in Bollywood with 'Jawaani Jaaneman'. Read on...

This lockdown has given a lot of actors a chance to slow down and unwind. In your case, your first film had just released and you were raring to go when everything came to a standstill…
Yes, the lockdown really cut my momentum. I was all ready and thinking… great stuff is going to start. And then, everything stopped suddenly. I was sad, but also glad that my film released, people could watch it in theatres and it was appreciated. I have waited for so long and was dying to put it out there for people to see. Whatever I had invested in so far — emotionally, mentally, physically — it all felt so worth it.

In your debut film, you came across as someone who is extremely confident and self-assured. Even during interactions with the media, that is one thing that stood out. Where does that confidence come from? Is it from the years of prep that you went through (film schools in New York, acting classes in Mumbai) before your debut?

A lot of it came from the prep and a lot of it also came from the fact that I have grown up in a family that is very outspoken. In that sense, I have grown up in front of the camera. The prep gives you a sense of security because you know what you are doing. I had prepped for my first day of shoot so thoroughly that I would make people do lines with me while editing a photo, or having a conversation. And after the first day, I remember Saif (Ali Khan) sir telling me, ‘You are very, very prepared. Keep that going.’

Also Read: Bewitching pictures of Pooja Bedi’s daughter Alaya Furniturewalla you simply can’t miss!

Post your training in New York, when you came back to Mumbai to pursue a career in the movies, you didn’t land a role really quick, right?

When I came back, it wasn’t like there were multiple offers waiting for me or even one for that matter. I don’t think I expected that. You hear stories about your contemporaries getting movies quickly and at some point, I was like…wait, is there something wrong with me? Why am I not getting offers? I would do a series of auditions and then people would say, ‘Oh, you are very good, but you know… whatever’. Every time I faced rejection, I would tell myself… ‘Now, I will prove it to you. I will get a film and you will regret not taking me.’ It got me motivated and energised. Now when I look back, I am glad that I did not get some of those movies, because I don’t think I would have been as ready. I got the perfect film for myself and I can’t imagine having started with any other film.

You come from a family of very strong women — your grandmom, late Protima Bedi, was a brave and outspoken woman, your mom Pooja Bedi, too, has always been vocal about her views. Do you see flashes of their personalities in you?

People tell me that they do, but I definitely think that we have calmed down over the generations. My grandmother was an extremely bold and outspoken woman, who was ahead of her time. Even with respect to today’s times, she would have been way ahead. My mother is also very bold, but tamer than my grandmother. And then there is me, who is the tamest of the lot. I definitely see flashes of them in me and I guess over time, we will find out more about the ways I have taken after them.

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