There are levels of nepotism, says Alaya F

Alaya F opened up about not considering herself a ‘nepo baby’, at least not completely. The actor said that she has not grown up going to industry parties. She said her mom had quit acting before she was born and ‘sometimes it does get frustrating’, when people speak about nepotism, without understanding that ‘there are levels of nepotism’.

Alaya made her acting debut with Saif Ali Khan and Tabu-starrer ‘Jawaani Jaaneman’ in 2020. Since then, she has acted in films such as Kartik Aaryan’s ‘Freddy’ (2022) and ‘Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat’ (2023). In her recent interview, Alaya said that although she does ‘come from privilege’, it’s unfair to say that everything she does comes her way because of where she was born.

“I don’t count myself as a fully nepo baby because you need to understand there are different levels in that. My mother was done with the industry. She had quit acting before I was born. I have not grown up among industry parties; that’s not been my life. So sometimes it does get frustrating because there are levels of nepotism. At the end of the day, I do come from privilege and that’s half of someone else’s journey. It does get me into rooms, but it doesn’t really guarantee me movies. But reaching there is the hardest part. While I won’t deny the access, it’s the merit that takes one ahead. You may agree or disagree, I am a nepo baby, but it’s unfair to base everything I do on where I come from. I have tried so hard to do much more and continuously do good work,” Alaya F told a leading media house.