Alaya F: I don't have a set idea on what I want to do

Alaya F. Picture courtesy/ Alay F's Instagram account

One-film old Alaya F is already a busy bee. Pooja Bedi's daughter Alaya, who has impressed all with her brilliant debut act in the recent "Jawaani Jaaneman", is celebrating all the ovation coming her way in the best way possible -- by working. "I am back to work. It's the kind of celebration I like," Alaya told IANS in a telephone conversation. The Nitin Kakkar directorial, presented by Pooja Entertainment in association with Black Knight Films and Northern Lights Films, released on January 31. It minted about Rs 20 crore in its first week in India. She already has a three-film deal from Northern Lights Films. She has another film lined up with Pooja Entertainment, though she prefers to be tight-lipped about it for now.

"I am just exploring my options. There's a lot of interest coming from a lot of people. I am very grateful. I just hope I make the right choices now," said Alaya. "I don't have a set idea on what I want to do or specifically not do. I want people to look at me in all sorts of ways. I don't want to be categorised as an actor who does a certain type of roles," she added.

She might be flooded with offers now but bagging her first film was "tough". "Intially, people would have reasons to say no. I would be very upset. I would wonder 'why not?' Then I realised that if people are making a film and investing crores in it, at the end of the day they have to make a decision that is right for their film," she said.

"Once I realised that, I focused on doing my best. Now when I see 'Jawaani Jaaneman', I feel the character is exactly like me. I remember looking at the character and saying, 'oh my god! I am perfect for the character'. I was lucky to fit into this role. I was lucky that Tia was like me and thankfully they also liked my acting. It worked out well," she added.

In "Jawaani Jaaneman", Alaya plays Saif Ali Khan and Tabu's daughter. The story, which is set in London, revolves around Tia, who is in search of her father and, after a DNA test, she discovers Saif's character, an unmarried Casanova, is her father. She has been getting encouraging words from people for her role. "The most valuable feedback that I have got is, 'just keep doing what you are doing'," said the young actor, who is all charged up to take on new roles.

Had she ever thought of having a back-up plan? "Before I started this, l said 'I love doing this. No matter what, I will stick to this'," she pointed out. She believes that if you love doing something, put in time and energy. "Sooner or later, it will work out. I didn't keep a back-up plan," said the passionate actor. Although she is Pooja Bedi's daughter and the granddaughter of veteran actor Kabir Bedi, she insists her family has nothing to do with her love for acting.

"I think I ran away from acting for a long time. I had gone to study direction. I fell in love with acting only because of acting. I remember doing one (acting) class randomly. I remember loving being in front of the camera. I remember the high that I got from doing it," recalled the youngster. "I thought this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It's just that feeling that triggered all that in me," she added.

She is not an impulsive person and believes in planning out things. "I literally plan everything. Even when I decided to act, that time I made a full five-year plan. I typed it out and printed it and gave it to my parents. My five-year plan is now coming towards an end. So far everything has gone on track," she said. "What else is in my five-year plan? I get to find out. I don't want to... we will see," she signed off.

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