New Delhi: Alaya F’s candor is as charming as her simplicity. When the 26-year-old was asked how her potential remained untapped, she nodded in agreement, but said in mock resignation that it was the perception of her as an urban girl that she found difficult to break out of.

“People usually come to me with a really urban character and I get that because I’m an urban girl. But, I am very good at playing characters who are not urban. My primary focus while training to be an actor was to work on characters that were not like me. I want people to break their assumptions and give me other parts. Many times when I go to meet someone or am seen in traditional attire, I am asked to wear a kurta. But why should I look helpless? An actor is not like the character they play, hopefully, my future projects will take me to this field”, she replies optimistically.

The actress, who will next be seen opposite Rajkummar Rao in Srikanth, says the challenge for actors like her is to get access to good scripts, which are few and far between, and also to get work.

“I like the fact that scripts and stories are being given a lot of importance, but the problem is that there are not that many strong scripts and stories. The second thing is that everyone wants to be a part of them, so how do you get them for yourself? Sometimes one gets lucky as it happened with Srikanth, but the challenge for me is to find those good stories. Sometimes you make choices that people are surprised about, but they should understand that when you sign a film, other factors also play a role, even if the script does not look that good.

Alaya, who debuted with Saif Ali Khan and Tabu in 2020 with Jawaanj Jaaneman, had admitted that being Kabir Bedi’s granddaughter and Pooja Bedi’s daughter might have helped her in the beginning but the road ahead was tough.

“Soon after my debut in 2020, the pandemic spread across the world, and it was a time when I realized how out of control everything was. I had to reorganize it and rework how to operate it. It also prepared me for how the industry is really like, you have to constantly reinvent, adjust and replan your life. Also after the wonderful experience of Jawaani Jaaneman, I was witness to the fact that not all film units were welcoming either. Not everyone has your best interests at heart. You have to defend yourself,” he said.

The young actress revealed that she is saddened by the gender disparities and inequalities in Bollywood, “I can find hundreds of reasons why someone should be paid more, have a bigger vanity, get a luxurious hotel than the rest. You should and you should also keep your point.” How a film is made, or even how you are talked about is another matter, but, for me, what is non-negotiable is respect. This is the basic thing, I am not asking you to respect me, but show some respect on a human level. There are times when you are given a supernatural call time when you know well that the other actor will come five hours later, it is just considerate that you let us go early or even ask if we have eaten. It is in these basic little things that show a fundamental lack of respect or regard for the other. I want that to change because it’s very disappointing.”