I wanted to be anything, but an actor: Alaya F (PHOTOS)

With just her debut movie, 'Jawaani Jaaneman' alongside Saif Ali Khan and Tabu, Alaya F has not only proved her mettle as an actor but has also shown a lot of promise as a Gen-X star.

Alaya’s confidence, screen presence and craze among the audience was truly commendable, what with the young star getting noticed by various big banners.

Post the success of her debut film, there was no looking back for Alaya, who became a hot favourite in Bollywood and also the brand's world. Needless to say, the young sensation was signed by the visionary producer Ekta Kapoor for two of her highly-anticipated projects, including the Kartik Aaryan starrer 'Freddy' and 'U Turn' under her banner, Balaji Telefilms and one untitled movie with Anurag Kashyap.

Alaya is one of the most successful young actors and going by her popularity and huge followers on social media, she remains favourite of fashion magazines by gracing their covers.

Alaya’s foray into the film industry has an interesting back story—after signing up for a 1-year film-making course at New York University (NYU), she dropped out and studied acting at the New York Film Academy (NYFA) instead.

While speaking to a leading magazine, Alaya admitted, “All my life, I wanted to be anything, but an actor, even though I loved films. The closest thing I could find was film-making, and I was very good at it. Even as a student, I volunteered to make short films whenever there was an opportunity—so naturally when you are good at something, you decide to make a career out of it.”

“NYU was the best available programme at the time, so I went for it—but something didn’t feel right. I tried to push away that feeling—until, during my course, there was a class where we had to direct and act. I enjoyed the acting bit so much that when I came back home for my summer break, I confidently announced the change of plan to my family—of course, they thought I was being indecisive and would change my mind back. I took the matter into my hands and applied to NYFA. For which—I self-recorded videos and wrote essays—finally, I got in! Then I went back to my parents with the acceptance letter and a 5-year plan which sealed the deal,” she adds.