Alaya F talks about privilege and nepotism in the Industry

Alaya F is frank and goes into great depth about the advantages a Bollywood nepotism kid receives, the doors nepotism opened for her, and more.

Bollywood actor Aalia Furniturewala, often known as Alaya F, is the daughter of a Bedi. The actress is the granddaughter of Kabir Bedi and the daughter of actress Pooja Bedi. She made her acting debut in the Saif Ali Khan co-starrer Jawaani Jaaneman and will next be seen in ZEE5’s U Turn. Alaya has enjoyed some perks as a member of a well-known Bollywood family, and she is now open about them.

Alaya spoke up in an exclusive discussion about being a nepotism kid, the benefits it brought her, and much more. She also explained why she went with Alaya F for her screen name rather than Aalia Furniturewala.

When asked if the fact that she only goes by Alaya F and drops the Bedi from her name prevents people from labelling her as a nepo kid as frequently as they do other stars, she said, “That’s not the reason at all. People firstly do mention, relate it (me being a product of nepotism) it’s like they don’t. They do (but) they don’t do it to a very, very large extent. But they still do.” She continued, “I have privilege, I take responsibility for that privilege, I take note of that privilege, I understand that things are easier for me, have been easier for me in a lot of ways. But they have also not been easy in a lot of ways.”

“People forget to realize that there are many stages and levels also of how much access your nepotism can give you. My nepotism got me a certain amount of access, but it never got me a film. But access is also so important – by default, it’s the most important thing. Which is why, no matter what it is I can never discount that privilege. Cause getting into those rooms is the hardest bit. Once you’re in the rooms the rest is your lookout.” She further added, “If I keep bothering myself with realizing my privileges or disregarding my privelege or all these 800 conversations we keep having, I feel like it’s an endless loop we’ll get stuck in. Nothing has changed about the way I was raised or where I was raised or whom I was raised by – that’s not going to change, we can have many conversations about it. What can change is the work I do, the amount of work I choose to put in or not put in, all these things are variable. So I try and make the most of these things, which are things I can actually do something about and can do the most of. The day I don’t do that is the day that I would feel very let down by myself. Then I would feel like I took things lightly. I don’t see myself doing. I’m very grateful for this opportunity and these wonderful circumstances that I’m in. And I promise to make the most of them and I hope it become clearer and clearer with every film I do.”

Speaking about having names like Bedi and Furniturewala she says,
“I suppose those names will always be there, and I’m proud to have those names. It’s not that I kept my name Alaya F because I want to run away from privilege. My last name is ‘Furniturewala’. It makes for a very long name… I’ve always gone by ‘F’ it’s just been the way. There wasn’t a real thought to it to separate me from my…it wasn’t that.” She added, “I’ll never say that I’ve not had the privilege or I’ve tried not to use it because it gets used without me even trying. But I’ve actively tried to make my own choices.