Alaya F has been slowly and steadily making a mark for herself in Bollywood. Despite being the daughter of actor and talk show host Pooja Bedi and the granddaughter of actor Kabir Bedi, Alaya does not fall into the category of star kids who have directors eagerly waiting to launch them. Yet, she cannot claim to be a complete outsider—making her an outlier to both star kids and people coming with no connections in the Hindi film industry and trying to make it big. Her philosophy is to focus and work hard and let all the chatter take a back seat. In this interview, the 25-years-old opens up on personal self care, do-it-yourself rituals she follows, her favourite fashion trend, her love for yoga and the best lesson she has learnt from her mother. Excerpts: Q: What does personal care mean to you? Alaya: Personal care to me is about balance, balance, balance! It’s about nurturing your body, mind and soul. It’s about eating healthy for your body but also having that midnight pizza for your soul sometimes. It’s about waking up early and reading a self-care book but it’s also staying up late and laughing the night away with your friends. Personal care to me is all about balance and nurturing and truly listening to your body. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ALAYA F (@alayaf) Q: If you are shooting for long hours, how do you prioritise and take out time for personal care and working out? Alaya: Honestly, that’s one balance I’ve really struggled with and it’s something that I’ve begun figuring out only recently. If my schedule is really chaotic and I’m not able to fit in a consistent workout, I make it a point to eat really healthy on those days. If I’m shooting away from home, I make sure I find a workout buddy so we can motivate each other to get up and go to the gym. I also always make sure that I get some “me time” before or after my shoot days because being on shoots and sets is a very consuming (yet rewarding) experience for me. So even if it means getting an hour less of sleep but giving that hour to something that gives me joy, I’ll do it because it makes me feel mentally happier and clearer. Again, it’s all about balance and listening to what your body needs. Q: Do you use any home DIY for beauty? Alaya: So there’s this coffee face pack that I’ve sworn by over the years. It’s coffee with some milk, some honey and some lemon juice and you can also add some sugar if you want. It makes a really nice exfoliating scrub. It works on your face and your body. Some other DIY hacks that I like are to take your green tea bags and put them in the freezer and then take them out and they become really good for your face. Also, just normal ice cubes on your face are just always wonderful. Also if you just give yourself a nice face massage every now and then, yeah, these are all great DIY beauty hacks. And also drink water. Everyone says this. Everyone thinks it’s just like an easy way out, but like, it is the best hack anyone can ever give you. Just drink water. No better beauty hack than that! View this post on Instagram A post shared by ALAYA F (@alayaf) Q: What is your mantra for staying healthy? Alaya: Set realistic, short-term and long-term goals. Balance and consistency are key. Listen to your body and enjoy the process. Q: What is your beauty mantra? Alaya: Everything requires consistency and discipline. Make a routine that you enjoy and make sure that routine is adaptable and not rigid. Enjoy your exercise, enjoy your diet, enjoy your routine. You shouldn’t feel punished or deprived, do it your way! There’s no right way or wrong way. This also includes taking time out to perhaps have a relaxing and rejuvenating shower. I exfoliate with a body and face scrub once in a week, shave with Bombae’s Rollplay Razor which comes with a super cool inbuilt roller which makes shaving super smooth and easy. If your mind is happy, your body is happy. If your body is happy, your mind is happy. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ALAYA F (@alayaf) Q: Your favourite fashion trend currently? Alaya: The less is more makeup, you know, where you just do like a nice, soft, simple, happy glam and it just looks stunning. Although I have no problem with more glam. That’s always nice, but I like the fact that you know this natural glam is super in. Also, I love that people love crop tops. Now I love crop tops. So I suppose that’s a fashion trend I really like. And those chunky platform sneakers because they give you height, but they’re so comfortable. I absolutely love good platform sneakers! Q: Dance, yoga or gym—which one is your favourite and why? Alaya: It would probably have to be yoga. Just because dance, for me, has always really been a journey. And as much as I enjoy it, it’s always about like, at the end of every dance class, my brain really does get really tired. Because dance isn’t something that comes naturally or easily to me. It’s something that I just have to put a lot of consistent work and effort into. And that’s the only way that I can deliver on it. Gym is something I really enjoy as well. But you know, it needs to have the right trainer and I need to be in the right frame of mind. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ALAYA F (@alayaf) Whereas yoga is something that I’ve just realised makes me feel competitive with myself, and which is my favourite type of competition. Yoga also can sort of mould it to your mood. If there’s a day where I don’t feel like physically exerting much, I do a wonderful, stretchy, easy flow class. If there’s a day where I feel like really pushing myself, I do a more intense one. Yoga for me came a lot more naturally to me than I ever expected. Like, I’ve barely been doing yoga for just a few years. But you know, some people think that I’ve been doing it for much longer. It comes naturally to me. I really enjoy it. Everyone likes things that they’re sort of good at. So if I have to say it weirdly, I enjoy yoga because I think I’m quite good at it. Q: Your top three travel destinations and why do you like them? Alaya: I love travelling and I like to keep travelling to new places. I don’t have three destinations that are my “top three” because I keep trying new places and each of those experiences are special and so different. But I will say that I love beachy places. More often than not, I’ll plan my holidays somewhere around the beach. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ALAYA F (@alayaf) Q: The best advice you have received from your mother Pooja Bedi on navigating your career, failure, etc? Alaya: Honestly, the most effective career advice my mother has ever given me is just to treat people with kindness and love and to make people feel like they are important and heard and loved. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ALAYA F (@alayaf) Everyone just needs to feel important and heard and loved and just, you know, treated with kindness. And I think that’s the one thing that my mother, without even trying to drill it into me, has shown me. I’ve seen and observed her and I’ve just seen her just always be that way with people and that’s something that I’ve taken on in life as well. So yeah, I’ll always say this. I say this in a lot of interviews and it’s not something new but it’s the truth! It really is the biggest learning I’ve ever taken from her, is how to really make people feel loved and cared for. So yeah, that is probably the best advice. Other than that, it’s probably just to consistently work hard and keep at it. Do not let anything ever pull you down. Just to keep consistently working and working hard. 📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don't miss out on the latest updates!
