Alaya F: My career changed after meeting Anurag sir

Pic/Instagram

Those who have worked with Anurag Kashyap will tell you how the filmmaker serves as a source of inspiration to them. It's no different for Alaya F. For the actor who features in the upcoming Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat, Kashyap is God-sent - one who showed faith in her when nobody in the industry did. "Almost Pyaar was the first film I signed, even before my debut vehicle, Jawaani Jaaneman [2020]. At the time, I was facing back-to-back rejections. People would praise [my reel], but I would never hear back from them. This confused me about the industry, and made me doubt myself. But when I showed my reel to Anurag sir, he said, ‘I have a film that's perfect for you.' There was no more discussion; he offered me the film," recounts Alaya.

Alaya F flanked by Karan Mehta and Anurag Kashyap at Marrakech Film Festival, where their film premiered

That moment transformed the then-newcomer's perspective. Then on, she went to auditions with renewed confidence. "That someone like him could believe in me gave me unparalleled confidence. It made me think I am worthy of being in the industry. I credit all the things that I got later, to that moment with sir. In a way, my career changed after that."

Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat, co-starring Karan Mehta, had its premiere at the Marrakech International Film Festival last month. While the romantic drama was in the making for the past four years, Alaya made a promising debut with Jawaani Jaaneman, which released only weeks before the pandemic hit in 2020. Last year, she bagged Freddy, and the remake of the Kannada thriller, U-Turn. She says that collaborating with Kashyap made her an assured actor who could juggle these different projects.

Also Read: Alaya F talks about working opposite Kartik Aaryan in 'Freddy': Sets a really high benchmark

"Anurag sir throws you into a world of filmmaking where everything is different from the normal way. After you've grasped that world, you feel a lot more prepared as an actor. When Freddy came to me, I had no time to prep, but working on Almost Pyaar had given me the confidence [that I'll pull it off]." Her start in the movies may have been slow, owing to the pandemic, but her hard work has earned her promising roles in Ekta Kapoor's U-Turn, and Rajkummar Rao-led Sri.