Alalya F talks about working with Rajkummar Rao in ‘Srikanth’ |

Alaya F is riding high on the success of ‘Srikanth’, which is nearing Rs 50 crore at the box office. Despite her brief performance in the biographical drama, the actress has enriched her filmography and taken home some positives from co-star Rajkummar Rao. Celebrating the success of the movie, Alaya says, “I am loving it. I mean, there’s nothing better than having a film in theatres that people are liking, appreciating, going out and watching.So every day when I get the updated box office number, I feel such pride in posting it. Every film takes so much hard work and so many people are involved in the making of it, so when it gets love, everyone’s work just feels validated. And it’s such an important and inspiring story. I’m just proud to be a part of this film, which put a smile on so many faces, mine included.”
Rajkummar Rao inspired Alaya as a co-star and the duo presented their best acts in ‘Srikanth’. “He is an extremely prepared actor, he knows his character and lines, inside-out. And, he’s someone that’s just so easy to work with. Rajkummar is a lovely person and I think one of the biggest things I learned from him was that talent speaks volumes. He doesn’t have any airs. He’s such a collaborative, kind person to work with. He’s so invested in his craft and the art that goes into making a movie, he has so much passion for cinema. It’s just really inspiring to see that. And I think the main thing I learned from him was just pick good scripts, work with good people and let the talent do all the talking,” says Alaya.
Alaya did not audition for the movie and greenlit it just over an informal meeting with the director, Tushar Hiranandani. “He told me that there was this part of Swati, which was not a very big role, but an important one. And he wanted me to play it and for me, as soon as I heard the story, I immediately said ‘this is a story that I would love to watch’. And there’s no bigger blessing than being able to be a part of a film that you yourself would be excited as an audience to watch. I told him very clearly, I don’t care how big or small the part is, I just want to be a part of the story because it inspired me.”
Before ‘Srikanth’, Alaya was last seen in ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’, which had a rather dismal fate at the box office. When asked if the movie’s outcome disappointed her, the actress shared her positive perspective on it. “Honestly, I’ve said this a bunch of times and it still holds really, really true. I got a lot from the film. I did manage to reach a new audience that didn’t know of me or my work before. I got to work with really wonderful, experienced, seasoned people like, Akshay sir and Tiger, who’s just so good at what he does, Ali sir, who is a dream commercial film director. I got to work with Manushi, Sonakshi and Prithvi sir and, overall for me, I had a great time. So it was a whole new experience for me. Of course, you hope that your film breaks all records and does phenomenally well but sometimes that doesn’t happen. But I still feel like it was very well worth it for me and I’m still proud to be a part of it,” concluded the actress.