Aliya Hamidi belongs to an Irani family. Not many know that apart from being an actor and social media influencer, she also did 25 makeup courses in Dubai to earn a place in the Guinness World of books. She is also a gemologist by profession.
“I enjoy doing different things. I am always keen to learn something new, do something more. Gaining so much knowledge in makeup and participating at the Guinness World of books boosted my confidence and opened a few doors towards my future,” says Aliya, who was recently seen in the music video Junoon.
Talking about becoming an influencer, she adds, “I started with YouTube as a makeup artist. After that, I started doing TikTok as well and got a very good response. When TikTok got shut, I came to Instagram and I got a good boost there too. My reels started getting views and shares, I got offers for music videos and did 12-13 of them with White Hills and other production houses. After my last release of June with White Hills, they offered me a Hindi movie. I have finished shooting 50 percent of the film. The second half will be shot in Chandigarh.”
Pandemic has changed the way we live as well as work. “It’s very sad because the income and everything has become less. I was in Mumbai and stuck at home. I used to make TikTok videos and for me it was a benefit as each and every video used to go viral and that’s how my life changed. But when that was banned, I had to look for other options,” she says.
Showering praises on the entertainment industry, she adds, “It surprises you everyday because you never know what opportunity will knock your door. The music videos and the auditions I go for helped me in learning more every day. For me, doing music videos, becoming an actor, doing a movie and being an influencer are huge. I don’t know many industry people here. I have just started.”
If not an influencer and actor, Aliya would have gotten married by the age of 18 as she comes from an orthodox family. However, when she chose to pursue her professional life further, her parents did support her.
So where do you see yourself five years from now? “The more opportunities I get, the more I will pursue my dream. I don’t know about the future but I will keep trying and working hard. Along with that I might also settle down and have kids,” says Aliya, whose hobbies include travelling. Every one or two months, she goes out of the country and has been to places like Albania, Budapest, Turkey, among others. She loves meeting new people and knowing about new cultures.
While she wanted to work in Bollywood, Aliya never thought much about it and worked hard to figure out how to work on different platforms. “I have never thought about Bollywood much also because it was always about me being an influencer or doing something in social media. Yes, I love acting and I want to explore” she ends.
