As Grazia completes 16 years, we’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to come into one’s own. Is it an ‘age’ thing, or is it that moment when your approach to life takes a dramatic turn? For our cover stars, three boldface names who are compelling critics and audiences alike to sit up and take notice, that evolution is just beginning
ALIZEH
From the moment she’s on set for this cover shoot, Alizeh’s easy energy rubs off on almost everyone else around. Gabbing with her co-cover stars in between shots, eating lunch with the team, egging her manager on to colour her hair – she is unselfconscious to the core. Some might posit that this stems from the fact that she practically grew up on sets. She is, after all, the third generation of one of the most renowned film families in Bollywood. But, as it becomes apparent when we sit down to chat, it is precisely her decision to defer her debut that has allowed her to cultivate such a steady sense of self.
Alizeh has been racking up accolades for her debut performance in Farrey, a thriller where she plays a brainy orphaned girl who gets entangled in a cheating racket at her elite school.
At 27, the actor differs from peers who perhaps felt the pressure to launch their acting careers the moment they hit adulthood. While the path to Farrey has been longer than you’d expect, it’s been entirely on her own terms: “I take a lot more time to process things. And that's one of the lessons I learned from age 18 to 24 – I need to take my time with things and respect the process that I have. I've had a lot of time to understand the way I want to approach films and the kind of people I want to collaborate with.” She glows as she recounts the effortless friendship she shared with her Farrey co-stars and the guidance she received from director Somendra Padhi, who insisted that they know the script like the back of their hands.
“I wanted to do something good with the role. When you come from a film family, you need to really prove yourself. I wanted it to be a challenging role. I wanted to go out of my way to break through the clutter,” she says.
We’re only now seeing more serious, script-led Indian high school dramas, and she’s excited to be a part of this new wave of entertainment. “Audiences became hungry for more because of OTT; we are competing with not just homegrown titles but international ones too. It was high time for some realistic youth-driven content because we've grown up seeing high school films based in schools that don't exist. It's all a fantasy. It was really refreshing to sit in a classroom that actually felt like a classroom. We didn't even have hair and make-up for the film,” she shares.
At a time when it’s all a numbers game, it’s rare to see a young creative who chooses quality over quantity. Alizeh carries this approach onto her social media as well. She elaborates, “It's the only place where I get to control my narrative. A lot of people do tell me that the image I’m building is very strong and clean; it’s refreshing to not be oversaturated with content because when I do post, it gets a lot of engagement.”
Her cool-girl style obviously makes for great visuals, but she also uses Instagram as a sounding board for her future aspirations: She really enjoys photography and wants to get into directing and cinematography down the line. When will this happen? We’ll have to wait and see. Her pace is perfect because it’s wholly her own.
VEDANG RAINA
Vedang Raina is very particular about the vibes. Before striking a pose and his signature smirk for the camera, he requests that we play tracks from his playlist.
Grooving to new-age hip-hop, he reminds us there’s more where that came from. The actor, who’s two projects old, set his creative trajectory in motion through music. He was always “a bit of a singer” and played the guitar; so he picked up music production while pursuing an unfulfilling business degree, which led to song covers on YouTube. This was also when he started auditioning, and landed his break as Reggie Mantle in The Archies. It came as a surprise to Raina himself. “Looking back, I think both music and acting excited me because I always had an artistic inclination. But I never thought of it as something that I would do full-time. I would love to say that I left everything behind for acting and told my parents, ‘No, I'm going to become an actor’, but it really wasn't like that. If The Archies didn't work out, I would be in a very different space today – maybe pursuing my post-graduation,” he admits. He’s quick to emphasise that he just got really, really lucky debuting with a Zoya Akhtar directorial. It was indeed a full circle moment for him, having rewatched Akhtar’s films such as Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Gully Boy multiple times.
If The Archies put Raina on the map, it’s Vasan Bala’s Jigra that’s taking him places. He stars alongside Alia Bhatt in his second film (set to release this September), and shares, without divulging too much, that he had to learn certain skills for his role, which proved to be quite challenging. “I've at least found what works for me in terms of how I approach my role. With Jigra, I had to get into a specific emotional state due to the extremities in the film. So, I think I found my process a bit more,” he admits. Both Akhtar and Bala’s fare as filmmakers goes beyond the cookie-cutter Bollywood formula; however, Raina makes it clear that starring in their projects was not a conscious choice on his part. His boyish good looks are fodder for typecasting, but he’s managed to flex his acting muscles through nuanced characters. He dishes, “It's a great narrative for me to have that as an actor, I got to pick these roles. But honestly, I was in no position to be choosing from anything at all. Even with Jigra, I wasn’t choosing from a lot of scripts and it just happened to be this. I didn't expect my second film to be of this sort and to work with Alia [Bhatt].”
In an industry where everyone chases fame, what are his most authentic aspirations for his career? Raina concludes, “I want to create a legacy. I want to be able to look back on my body of work and be proud of it. I feel like a lot of people say this to sound cool, but I’m genuinely not obsessed with fame. Obviously, I enjoy being known. If it’s a natural consequence of what I'm doing with my work, it’s great.”
MEDHA SHANKR
Medha Shankr moves through the world with a certain softness, a softness you don’t expect from an actor who has been in the spotlight for the past six months. Having garnered critical acclaim and an armful of awards for her work in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12th Fail, she is full of hope – as she should be. She neatly demarcates her career into two: Before and after her big break.
Shankr, who comes from an academically uncompromising family, started modelling right after graduation but felt obligated to pursue higher education. She did her Masters in fashion management, but her heart was set on acting. Soon after her move to Mumbai, she got cast in Beecham House, a British period drama series where she played the role of a princess. Since then, she has appeared in Dil Bekaraar, the OTT adaptation of Those Pricey Thakur Girls, among a spate of other projects.
While 2020 was a devastating year for everyone, it was also when she came of age as an actor: Short on work and money, she took this time to hone her acting chops and emerged feeling fully ready.
As far as watershed moments go, Shankr couldn’t have asked for a better break into the mainstream than 12th Fail. “This was the first time I was the leading lady. Of course, it was a very performance-oriented film. A director as legendary as Vidhu sir expects a certain standard of performance from every single person. Our backs were pushed against the wall at many points because it was pretty emotionally demanding, but it was just as rewarding,” she shares.
The biographical nature of the film meant that preparing for her role was a journey in itself. She met with and spoke to Dr Shraddha Joshi Sharma, the IRS officer whom her character is based on. “When we started talking to each other, I realised that our worldviews are very similar. Be it our approach to love and romance – we’re both very old-school – or our value system, we had a lot in common,” she says.
On Vedang: Modern cotton tank top,90s denim trucker jacket, authentic straight fit jeans, all Calvin Klein, INR 2,999, INR 12,999 and INR 11,999 each respectively
On Alizeh: Archival Monogram Logo Rib Tank, Extreme Low-High Rise Jeans, both Calvin Klein, INR 2999 and INR 9999 each respectively; Tennis Necklace, Jet Gems, price on request; On left hand: Stackable Diamond Bangles, all Jet Gems, prices on request; On right hand: Diamond Bracelets, Jet Gems, prices on request.
On Medha: Woven Label Rib Crop V-neck Tee, Calvin Klein Underwear, INR 2599; Lean Denim Button-Down Shirt, Authentic High-Rise Bootleg Jeans, both Calvin Klein, INR 6599 and INR 12,999 each respectively; White Gold Diamond Tennis Necklace, A.S. Motiwala Fine Jewellery, price on request.
On Alizeh: Archival Monogram Logo Rib Tank, Extreme Low-High Rise Jeans, both Calvin Klein, INR 2999 and INR 9999 each respectively; Tennis Necklace, Jet Gems, price on request; On left hand: Stackable Diamond Bangles, all Jet Gems, prices on request; On right hand: Diamond Bracelets, Jet Gems, prices on request.
On Medha: Woven Label Rib Crop V-neck Tee, Calvin Klein Underwear, INR 2599; Lean Denim Button-Down Shirt, Authentic High-Rise Bootleg Jeans, both Calvin Klein, INR 6599 and INR 12,999 each respectively; White Gold Diamond Tennis Necklace, A.S. Motiwala Fine Jewellery, price on request.
On Vedang: Denim Popover Jacket, 90s Loose Fit Jeans, both Calvin Klein, INR 19,999 and INR 9,999 each respectively; Sneakers, Comet, INR 4,299.
On Alizeh: Modern Cotton Padded Bralette, Calvin Klein Underwear, INR 2699; Sculpt Denim Bodycon Dress, Calvin Klein, INR 6599; Duo Diamond Ring, Squared Diamond Ring, Triple Lined Diamond Ring, Emerald Cut Ring, Emerald Cut Bangle, all Carat Crush, prices on request.
On Medha: Rib Halter Neck Blouse, 90s High Rise Midi Skirt, both Calvin Klein, INR 2599 and INR 6599 each respectively; Diamond Hoop Earrings, Stackable Diamond Rings, Jet Gems, prices on request.
On Alizeh: Modern Cotton Padded Bralette, Calvin Klein Underwear, INR 2699; Sculpt Denim Bodycon Dress, Calvin Klein, INR 6599; Duo Diamond Ring, Squared Diamond Ring, Triple Lined Diamond Ring, Emerald Cut Ring, Emerald Cut Bangle, all Carat Crush, prices on request.
On Medha: Rib Halter Neck Blouse, 90s High Rise Midi Skirt, both Calvin Klein, INR 2599 and INR 6599 each respectively; Diamond Hoop Earrings, Stackable Diamond Rings, Jet Gems, prices on request.
ALIZEH
Logo Elastic Bardot Tee, 90s High Rise Midi Skirt, both Calvin Klein, INR 2999 and INR 6599 each respectively; Diamond-Studded Necklace, Gehna Jewellers, price on request; From wrist to arm: White Gold Diamond Bracelet, Oval Shaped Diamond Bracelet, Marquise Diamond Bracelet, all Anmol Jewellers, prices on request; 'Amali Alta' Leather Platform Heels, Christian Louboutin, price on request.
From the moment she’s on set for this cover shoot, Alizeh’s easy energy rubs off on almost everyone else around. Gabbing with her co-cover stars in between shots, eating lunch with the team, egging her manager on to colour her hair – she is unselfconscious to the core. Some might posit that this stems from the fact that she practically grew up on sets. She is, after all, the third generation of one of the most renowned film families in Bollywood. But, as it becomes apparent when we sit down to chat, it is precisely her decision to defer her debut that has allowed her to cultivate such a steady sense of self.
Alizeh has been racking up accolades for her debut performance in Farrey, a thriller where she plays a brainy orphaned girl who gets entangled in a cheating racket at her elite school.
At 27, the actor differs from peers who perhaps felt the pressure to launch their acting careers the moment they hit adulthood. While the path to Farrey has been longer than you’d expect, it’s been entirely on her own terms: “I take a lot more time to process things. And that's one of the lessons I learned from age 18 to 24 – I need to take my time with things and respect the process that I have. I've had a lot of time to understand the way I want to approach films and the kind of people I want to collaborate with.” She glows as she recounts the effortless friendship she shared with her Farrey co-stars and the guidance she received from director Somendra Padhi, who insisted that they know the script like the back of their hands.
“I wanted to do something good with the role. When you come from a film family, you need to really prove yourself. I wanted it to be a challenging role. I wanted to go out of my way to break through the clutter,” she says.
We’re only now seeing more serious, script-led Indian high school dramas, and she’s excited to be a part of this new wave of entertainment. “Audiences became hungry for more because of OTT; we are competing with not just homegrown titles but international ones too. It was high time for some realistic youth-driven content because we've grown up seeing high school films based in schools that don't exist. It's all a fantasy. It was really refreshing to sit in a classroom that actually felt like a classroom. We didn't even have hair and make-up for the film,” she shares.
At a time when it’s all a numbers game, it’s rare to see a young creative who chooses quality over quantity. Alizeh carries this approach onto her social media as well. She elaborates, “It's the only place where I get to control my narrative. A lot of people do tell me that the image I’m building is very strong and clean; it’s refreshing to not be oversaturated with content because when I do post, it gets a lot of engagement.”
Her cool-girl style obviously makes for great visuals, but she also uses Instagram as a sounding board for her future aspirations: She really enjoys photography and wants to get into directing and cinematography down the line. When will this happen? We’ll have to wait and see. Her pace is perfect because it’s wholly her own.
VEDANG RAINA
Smooth Cotton Zip Polo Shirt, Authentic Straight Jeans, both Calvin Klein, INR 4999 and INR 11,999 each respectively; Steel Cuff, Pearl Steel Cuff, both Anaq, INR 2100 each respectively.
Vedang Raina is very particular about the vibes. Before striking a pose and his signature smirk for the camera, he requests that we play tracks from his playlist.
Grooving to new-age hip-hop, he reminds us there’s more where that came from. The actor, who’s two projects old, set his creative trajectory in motion through music. He was always “a bit of a singer” and played the guitar; so he picked up music production while pursuing an unfulfilling business degree, which led to song covers on YouTube. This was also when he started auditioning, and landed his break as Reggie Mantle in The Archies. It came as a surprise to Raina himself. “Looking back, I think both music and acting excited me because I always had an artistic inclination. But I never thought of it as something that I would do full-time. I would love to say that I left everything behind for acting and told my parents, ‘No, I'm going to become an actor’, but it really wasn't like that. If The Archies didn't work out, I would be in a very different space today – maybe pursuing my post-graduation,” he admits. He’s quick to emphasise that he just got really, really lucky debuting with a Zoya Akhtar directorial. It was indeed a full circle moment for him, having rewatched Akhtar’s films such as Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Gully Boy multiple times.
If The Archies put Raina on the map, it’s Vasan Bala’s Jigra that’s taking him places. He stars alongside Alia Bhatt in his second film (set to release this September), and shares, without divulging too much, that he had to learn certain skills for his role, which proved to be quite challenging. “I've at least found what works for me in terms of how I approach my role. With Jigra, I had to get into a specific emotional state due to the extremities in the film. So, I think I found my process a bit more,” he admits. Both Akhtar and Bala’s fare as filmmakers goes beyond the cookie-cutter Bollywood formula; however, Raina makes it clear that starring in their projects was not a conscious choice on his part. His boyish good looks are fodder for typecasting, but he’s managed to flex his acting muscles through nuanced characters. He dishes, “It's a great narrative for me to have that as an actor, I got to pick these roles. But honestly, I was in no position to be choosing from anything at all. Even with Jigra, I wasn’t choosing from a lot of scripts and it just happened to be this. I didn't expect my second film to be of this sort and to work with Alia [Bhatt].”
In an industry where everyone chases fame, what are his most authentic aspirations for his career? Raina concludes, “I want to create a legacy. I want to be able to look back on my body of work and be proud of it. I feel like a lot of people say this to sound cool, but I’m genuinely not obsessed with fame. Obviously, I enjoy being known. If it’s a natural consequence of what I'm doing with my work, it’s great.”
MEDHA SHANKR
Denim Zip-Through Mini Dress, Calvin Klein, INR 6599; Stackable Heart Bracelet, Cut Diamond Bracelet, Emerald Cut Diamond Bracelet, all Vandals World, prices on request; Drop Ring, Round Ring, Baguette Ring, all Mahesh Notandas, prices on request; Block Heels, Aldo, INR 13,999.
Medha Shankr moves through the world with a certain softness, a softness you don’t expect from an actor who has been in the spotlight for the past six months. Having garnered critical acclaim and an armful of awards for her work in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12th Fail, she is full of hope – as she should be. She neatly demarcates her career into two: Before and after her big break.
Shankr, who comes from an academically uncompromising family, started modelling right after graduation but felt obligated to pursue higher education. She did her Masters in fashion management, but her heart was set on acting. Soon after her move to Mumbai, she got cast in Beecham House, a British period drama series where she played the role of a princess. Since then, she has appeared in Dil Bekaraar, the OTT adaptation of Those Pricey Thakur Girls, among a spate of other projects.
While 2020 was a devastating year for everyone, it was also when she came of age as an actor: Short on work and money, she took this time to hone her acting chops and emerged feeling fully ready.
As far as watershed moments go, Shankr couldn’t have asked for a better break into the mainstream than 12th Fail. “This was the first time I was the leading lady. Of course, it was a very performance-oriented film. A director as legendary as Vidhu sir expects a certain standard of performance from every single person. Our backs were pushed against the wall at many points because it was pretty emotionally demanding, but it was just as rewarding,” she shares.
The biographical nature of the film meant that preparing for her role was a journey in itself. She met with and spoke to Dr Shraddha Joshi Sharma, the IRS officer whom her character is based on. “When we started talking to each other, I realised that our worldviews are very similar. Be it our approach to love and romance – we’re both very old-school – or our value system, we had a lot in common,” she says.
Contrary to some of the advice she received as a newcomer, she holds honesty and sincerity very close to her heart. “There were a couple of people who said ‘You’re too honest and innocent for this world – it will eat you up’. When you're young, you do feel sometimes that maybe this person knows better. Thankfully, good sense prevailed and I stuck to my guns,” she recalls.
Not a lot has changed in the life of Medha Shankr, the person, since then. She still prefers her own company and hardly steps out of the house unless it’s for work. She’s defiant: “People kept telling me that your network is your net worth, but that's just not who I am. I don't want to change my personality just to make friends. I will work on my craft, and work will come to me eventually. And that's exactly what happened.”
Working so closely with Vinod Chopra also made her feel seen. She says, “Vidhu sir has consolidated my faith in my moral compass. He values people for the real qualities they possess; for someone as experienced as him, it’s very easy to see through the fluff. He would always tell me, ‘Medha, stay the way you are’.”
Here’s to honouring our truest selves.
Photographs: TITO/A LITTLE FLY
Fashion Director: PASHAM ALWANI
Hair and Make-up: KIRAN DENZONGPA/FEAT. ARTISTS
Assisted by (styling): NISHTHA PARWANI, NAHID NAWAZ
Fashion intern: ISHA KEDIA
Production Assistant: YUSUF LOKHANDWALA
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