Alaya F, daughter of Pooja Bedi and grand daughter of Kabir Bedi is a third generation actor, who hasn’t taken her genes for granted and has worked hard on her craft and attended a reputed film school. This reflects in her performances which have impressed critics and audiences across the board. In an exclusive conversation with The Free Press Journal’s Buzz By The Bay, Alaya F talks about her upcoming film SRI with RajKumaar Rao, her relationship with her mother and grandfather, nepotism in the industry and more. Excerpts:
Your latest film U Turn is quite spooky. Did you enjoy shooting for it?
It was a challenging film to shoot with supremely long hours shooting in Chandigarh in peak summers. We shot for 45 days non stop. I am happy with the way it has turned out and with the way people have enjoyed it. The memes that have come out about it are good too. It was audiences, who enjoyed it more than critics as it was not meant to be a cinematic masterpiece.
You did with Jawaani Jaaneman (2020), psychological thriller Freddie (2022), Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat (2023) and then U turn. How do you feel your acting has evolved?
I think my career has gone a little differently. Shooting wise, I shot Jawaani Jaaneman first, then Almosy Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat. Post that, I shot U Turn and then Freddie. I acted straight from my heart in my first two films since I picked up techniques for acting in them. If I am not feeling emotional, how do I technically make it seem like I am feeling that. That was a dangerous thing, because for the next two movies I acted more with my brain and less with my heart.
Go on…
If you ask me, liked my performances in Jawaani Jaaneman and Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbatbetter than my performances in U turn and Freddie. Now going forward in my next shoots, what I am actively trying to do is to go back to acting from my heart with the techniques that I have learnt because technicality is also very important. I did filmmaking at NYU and did acting at New York film academy. I came back and made sure I trained for another year and a half before I even auditioned.
How do you prepare for a role?
Honestly, I just read the script a billion times and usually whatever you need it’s pretty much already there in the script. The only times I do any external preparation is if the character needs a particular dialect, or a particular way of being, which most of my characters haven’t had except in Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat. For two of the films, I needed to learn how to drive a car, because I never knew how to drive.
Do you feel that coming from a film family has opened doors for you?
Of course, there is an advantage and privilege. I have realised that my specific nepotism got me access to rooms and meetings, where people would be courteous and sit down and chat with me and watch my reels but it never got me a film.
