Life’s got nothing on our digital cover star Alaya F

“What’re you thinking?” I ask right at the get go.

Alaya laughs. “About the rest of my day? It’s weirdly very packed.”

I glance at my watch, puzzled. It’s 5 pm, and the only latent—can we say the word without censorship nightmares?—thought in my mind is how I’m going to attempt the Sindhi kadhi ramen I’ve been reading about all week. It’s easy for me to procrastinate on real to-dos.

“I have to go to my dad’s, so I need to squeeze in my daily walk now.” She mentions, some time later, that she never misses her evening walk. “And then I have about 75 hard tasks left to finish.”

We sure approach life differently. I get through days with haphazard proactiveness; she, on the other hand, functions on actual productivity.

Outfit, Asymmetrical trench with rhinestone skirt-trousers, MMVM (@shopmmvm); Jewellery, LUNA Lab-Grown Diamond Tennis Necklace And Round Unity Pendant, Mix Diamond Classy Necklace, Classy Pear Solitaire And Half Eternity Oval Ring, all by LUNA Diamonds (@luna.diamonds.luxe); Heels, Black Pumps by Christian Louboutin (@christianlouboutin); Red Stockings by Calzedonia (@calzedonia)

Or maybe not.

“So once you’re done with all those tasks, what’s your non-skincare nighttime routine?” I prod.

“I take a shower, and when I step out, my dinner is waiting for me on my bed.” She immediately acknowledges that it’s not a habit she’s proud of, but it’s one she enjoys and doesn’t plan to change anytime soon. We hear you, Alaya! We hear you.

Outfit, Corset Bubble Dress by Mahima Mahajan x MMVM (@mahimamahajanofficial) (@shopmmvm); Jewellery, UNA Emerald Lab-Grown Diamond Hoops, LUNA Lab-Grown Diamond Tennis Bracelet, Classic Tennis Bracelet And Stone Chain Bracelet, all by LUNA Diamonds (@luna.diamonds.luxe); Shoes, Psyche’s Wing Strappy Heels by Two.Ate (@two.ate)

You’d expect it’s a healthy meal followed by an early bedtime to set her up for the next packed day, but you’d only be partially right. It is a healthy meal for sure—stir-fried paneer and veggies with a changing sauce, air-fried sweet potato, and soup—but it’s not going to be an early night.

“I always watch something that makes me happy with dinner. Meanwhile, my mind quickly starts reminding me that I have pages to read, a gratitude journal to fill, my nam-myoho-renge-kyo chant to do, and my many digestive waters to chug. There’s always an inner battle over which episode to stop at, and an endless procrastination cycle before I finally get to my must-do tasks. When I eventually check everything off, the last thing I do is set my many, many alarms.”

It’s my turn to laugh. “Sounds like me!”

“We’re centred girls, doing good, productive activities,” she laughs with me. “And watching endless TV,” I add.

“That!”

Yet, as our conversation meanders, it’s unmissable that beneath her genial persona is someone pensive, who has taken the time to understand herself and her place in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outfit, Rhinestone Asymmetrical Look by MMVM (@shopmmvm); Jewellery, Pear Lab-Grown Diamond Huggies Earrings; Lab-Grown Diamond Stone Chain Bracelet, both by LUNA Diamonds (@luna.diamonds.luxe); Shoes, Red Pumps, Christian Louboutin (@christianlouboutin)

Alaya’s journey in films began with Jawaani Jaaneman (2020), where she played a 21-year-old at a crossroads, navigating impending motherhood and a newly discovered biological father. Since then, Alaya has done big roles and small—treading the waters of a psychological thriller (Freddy), musical romance (Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat), supernatural thriller (U-Turn), sci-fi (Bade Miyan Chote Miyan), and biopic (Srikanth).

“You once said you hoped to connect with a wider India. Does that still hold true?” I ask.

“I think the new goal is to take on roles I’m proud of. I’ve realised that chasing an outcome only leads to one running in circles. So now it’s about doing work that I believe in—work that adds value to me and, more importantly, that I can add value to. Of course, I want to do a variety of roles, but I’ll never again chase an outcome.”

She ruminates for a second before declaring that she sounds poetic. I can’t help but agree, especially as someone who is still caught up chasing outcomes and tangled in a web of what-ifs. It makes me wonder: Was Aalia (as Alaya was formerly known) different? What led her here?

Outfit, Embellished Poppy yellow Tube Mini, MMVM (@shopmmvm); Jewellery, LUNA Round Lab Grown Diamond Hoops, Lab Grown Diamond Tennis Bracelet; Half Eternity Oval Lab And Classy Pear Solitaire Lab Grown Diamond Ring, all by LUNA Diamonds (@luna.diamonds.luxe); Shoes, Strappy platform sandals, Christian Louboutin (@christianlouboutin)

“Aalia for me was my years of a little bit of chaos, a little bit of fun, a lot of messiness, a lot of learning and growth. As for Alaya, my whole journey in the industry has been Alaya. And she’s learnt a lot. I was very naive when I came in. Not dumb, but softer. And I have realised over time that one needs to be strong and hard. Here, everyone has an opinion about everything, and if you believe them then you forget who you are. I went through many phases of that.”

Today, Alaya confidently says she’s no longer a “khichdi” of other people’s opinions. While the industry briefly made her harder and less trusting, she now listens to her gut, and has found the magic in being her own (albeit smart) version of soft.

She finely balances a positive outlook with, let’s call it, good preservation instincts, and a profound belief in karma, doing your best, and kindness begets kindness.

“And is there anything you’d want a do-over for?”

“Maa Exchange. I want to erase it!” she laughs, quickly adding, “no, no, I’m kidding.”

Early in our conversation, I had mentioned that my first introduction to her was on Maa Exchange (a Mom Swap-style reality TV show), and how the episode had stayed with me for how her family came together at the end, and how, well, soft Alaya was.

“I think if I wanted a do-over it would be for that middle phase of my life and career where I stopped listening to myself and trusted other peoples’ opinions too much.”

Outfit, Rhinestones Bubblegum Bralet and Mini by MMVM (@shopmmvm); Jewellery, Lab-Grown Mix Diamond Classy necklace and Pink Pear Solitaire Lab-Grown Diamond ring, both by LUNA Diamonds (@luna.diamonds.luxe); Shoes, White Platform Heels, Two.Ate (@two.ate)

But, as Alaya concludes, she’s healed and recovered and now listens to herself and herself alone, of course after lending an ear to all the advice she may get.

“Has all of this taught you patience too?” I’m inquisitive.

“I am the most impatient person you’ll meet! But adult life teaches you the importance of nurturing patience. So now I fill waiting periods with my love for fitness, which has become integral to my life, and social media, which is basically a show reel of me.”

“What about perfection?”

“I accepted long ago that I’m not perfect, just the perfect version of me today,” she says, making me realise how much I have to learn from her.

“What are you reading now?” I ask, hoping to steer her back into the fun part of the questionnaire.
 
“The seventh book in Maya Angelou’s autobiography series. I first read her poem Still I Rise in school, and it moved me so much that I have the words tattooed on my back with wings. She intrigues me a lot.”

She goes on to tell me the story of how she got her first tattoo—“I wanted to get a bunch of them, but I wasn’t sure my mother would approve. So what I sneakily did was I told her I wanted to get a tattoo for her for her birthday.” Long story short, an emotional Pooja Bedi (her mother) said yes, and that was the gateway to the many others that Alaya now has.

“Okay, final two questions,” I say, knowing I’m cutting into her walk time. “If you had a podcast, what would it be called?”

“‘Advice You Never Asked For’,” she replies instantly. I’m impressed by the snappy title.

“Can I ask you a morbid question?” I venture, hoping I can sneak in my favourite one of all.

“Of course, go for it.” (Yay!)

“If you were having your last meal on earth, what would it be?”

“Oh god, I think that question itself will be what kills me!” she laughs. I take that as my cue to sign off.

Editor: Pratishtha Dobhal(@pratishtha_dobhal)
Digital Editor: Sonal Ved (@sonalved)
Stylist: Sheefa J Gilani (@sheefajgilani )
Photographer: Sasha Jairam (@sashajairam)
Cover Design: Mandeep Singh Khokhar (@mandy_khokhar19)
Editorial Coordinator: Shalini Kanojia (@shalinikanojia)
Make-up Artist: Mitali Vakil (@mitalivakil)
Hair Artist: Sourav Roy (@souravv_roy_) 
Assistant stylist: Shriya Mahajan ( @shriyaamahajann ); Fashion Intern: Johannah Stephen (@johannahstephen_)
Artist Reputation Management: Communiquè Films Pr (@Communiquefilmpr)
On Alaya: Outfit, Rhinestone Asymmetrical Look by MMVM (@shopmmvm), Pear Lab-Grown Diamond Huggies Earrings; Lab-Grown Diamond Stone Chain Bracelet, both by LUNA Diamonds (@luna.diamonds.luxe); Shoes, Red Pumps, Christian Louboutin (@christianlouboutin).