Alaya F caught the audience’s attention with her easy screen presence in Jawaani Jaaneman (2020). But almost two years down the line, we are yet to see her back on the silver screen. She admits the pandemic put the brakes on her career. “After the film’s release, I was on cloud nine. It felt like I was finally living my dream,” begins Alaya, who, like the rest of us, had little idea what 2020 had in store. “In a few weeks, we were all in a global lockdown. Right after Jawaani, I had signed two films. I lost both films in the first two months of the lockdown. I was scared because I was unsure of where my career stood.”

It required some emotional strength and a lot of social media savviness to turn the tide. “[Thanks to] social media, I was visible every day, and it got me attention from brands and people. The minute things started opening up, I jumped back into work. I went after films like a total newcomer, did auditions, and had meetings with producers.” Her drive paid off as she bagged two plum projects soon — Ekta Kapoor’s U-Turn, an adaptation of the 2016 Kannada film of the same name, and Freddy alongside Kartik Aaryan. “I stayed away from watching the original U-Turn. I didn’t want to imitate what Samantha did in the [Tamil and Telugu versions]. I have to own the part. The script has been revisited and the narrative has new sub-plots, so it’s best to approach it with a fresh view.”

In September, Alaya wrapped up the shoot of Freddy, billed as a romantic thriller. All praises for her co-star, she says, “Kartik is a hardworking actor who is good at his job. He will surprise people with this film.”