Vedang Raina Isn't Losing Sleep Over Any Chatter About Him

It's not easy to impress fans & critics alike with your first film but Vedang Raina isn’t considered one of the more talented newcomers in Hindi movies for nothing. Slowly but steadily, he’s climbed the popularity charts with both critics & audiences, though he’s just had two releases yet. Not to mention the excited roster of filmmakers he’s already worked with – Zoya Akhtar, Vasan Bala and now, Imtiaz Ali. Plus, he’s got the looks and he can sing – did someone say triple threat? As the actor gets set for the release of his third movie, Main Vaapas Aaunga, we sat down with him to talk about playing a hopeless romantic, singing for AR Rahman, the pressures for young actors today and more. Edited excerpts: 

After The Archies, Main Vaapas Aaunge is another period film 

It’s so exciting to explore a different time, a different era, and in the three films that I’ve done, I’ve got the opportunity to do two period films, which is quite a privilege. 

Talk to us about your character, a young man in the 1940s going through first love and heartbreak 

It started with meeting Imtiaz Sir and him talking about this character. I remember he was very precise and very particular about a few things that he wanted in this character, Keenu. I kept those things in mind and realized that this character is far from who I am as a person. He is somebody who wears his heart on his sleeve and can’t control his emotions, so much so that he doesn’t think before he speaks. When he is around a girl he likes, he gets all clumsy and panicky. He is not someone who can be calm, cool and collected around a woman. I think the writing also portrayed the same thing eventually, and it was very interesting to explore a different kind of body language. It is a role I lost some weight for, so I felt different in my own body. Then, obviously, to get to wear the pagdi, that was a unique experience.

Though love as a universal emotion remains the same, the way we engage with it has changed. How was it exploring an era before social media & dating apps?  

I think love, the emotion, remains the same and at the core that feeling will never change. The only thing that has changed is the language and everything around it. I feel like, deep down — and I represent Gen Z since I am one — we’re all craving that feeling, those butterflies in the stomach. That innocence and just feeling the presence of somebody and not talking to them, when the eyes meet and you catch a glimpse of that person – that becomes the best thing of your day. I feel like that is such an innocent, pure emotion. The fact that we have explored it in this film means it doesn’t only have to relate to people from that generation or my parents’ generation, but it will relate to Gen Z as well. 

When it comes to love, are you more like Reggie from The Archies or Keenu from Main Vaapas Aaunga? 

I’m actually neither. I’m somewhere in the middle, but definitely not Reggie. He was way too confident and egoistic, and he also is way cooler than I could ever be.

From Zoya Akhtar to Vasan Bala and now Imtiaz Ali — each filmmaker brings a different narrative style, treatment and grammar. What’s your biggest takeaway from working with Imtiaz Ali? 

I have had the privilege of working with three very different schools of filmmaking. I consider myself really lucky that I got these three opportunities so early in my career. I feel like they really shaped the actor that I am right now. Talking about Imtiaz Sir, it has been an experience I’ve never really gone through before. He is somebody who really thinks like an actor. He directs for the actor, he writes for the actor, and he’s somebody who is very observant of people in general, and that shows in his writing and filmmaking. He understands people on a very deep level. It has been one of the best shooting experiences ever for me, and I now know why people say working with him really changes you. The biggest takeaway would probably be that nothing is unimportant. Sometimes you get slightly complacent about some things, but with him, he treats every single thing — however minor it may be — with equal heart, soul and importance.

What was it like singing for AR Rahman? 

I don’t have words to describe that feeling. I still don’t believe it, when I open Spotify or Apple Music or something, and you see AR Rahman, and then you see Vedang Raina, it is unbelievable that these two names could ever be taken in the same sentence. I still haven’t processed it but it is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. I’m only imagining what the younger version of me would have felt if I told him that, you’re going to be singing in a Rahman composition. It’s a big privilege, and I’m glad I got that opportunity. 

Are you hoping to bring back the era of singing actors? 

I would not consider myself on the level of any of the greats that we’ve seen before, but that is something that I miss watching, even as an audience. So, I hope that comes back. 

There’s all kinds of chatter that surrounds young actors today 

I mean, you can’t avoid it after a point. You may choose to ignore certain things, but it seeps into some conversation somewhere, and it’s unavoidable. I feel it is also a good thing. It keeps you on your toes. I take it very positively.

What’s your take on competition? 

The only thing I care about is getting opportunities. I don’t want to be in a place where I don’t have opportunities, and if I have the opportunity, I feel like I’ll put in my 110 percent and there’ll be some fruit of my hard work. That’s all I hope for. I am honestly in a place where I look at my contemporaries and I look at all the actors that are of my age and people who are doing films right now, and I’m so in awe of them and genuinely fond of them all. So I’m wishing everyone the best.  

As an audience member, what is that one thing you want to change in current times to make the moviegoing experience special for people again? 

It’s a tough question. I think I’m craving innovation, some unique scripts… a truly original thought or idea. Our country has so many stories, there is so much lore, there is history, a rich culture, there are so many interesting things to explore. I am wishing for that to happen. Obviously, we’re seeing a lot of technology come in. There is so much happening in VFX as well as sound design reaching that level as we’ve seen internationally. I hope we continue to make progress in that sector as there is so much being invested into this technology, because I feel like that will open the doors and windows for other such films. I am really looking forward to development in all sectors of filmmaking. 

How would you define style and what are the must haves in your wardrobe? 

I don’t know what my style is, but I’d like to say that the things I’m attracted to, or the things that I keep falling back on when it comes to fashion, are most importantly things that I’m comfortable wearing and enjoy wearing, and maybe weather appropriate as well. But I’ve realized that my style has a lot of vintage stuff, so basically the style from the 60s feels very relevant right now. Tailored trousers and shirts, loafers and boots… I feel like that kind of silhouette and fashion is very much me. A good pair of well-tailored trousers and a crisp shirt are must haves in my wardrobe. 

What are your top five films of all time? 

That is such a tough question. I always watch these videos of everyone choosing their top five and think I don’t know how I will ever choose mine, since it’s always changing. In no particular order, I remember seeing Interstellar. I think that’s probably still number one. I remember watching it as a kid, and even now when I see it, it’s one of the films that’s impacted me the most. I love that film. Then I’d say Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa. Then Goodfellas by Martin Scorsese. Then there is this animated film called Spirited Away, that’s really a lovely film. And the fifth — I am divided between Inglourious Basterds and Zanjeer. 

What genre would you want to explore next? You also have a film with Naomika Saran coming up 

I want to explore doing a rom com. I think that’s something I’d really enjoy doing — your typical feel good rom com, the kind we saw a lot during the early 2000s, and we saw a lot of those movies in India as well. That’s a genre I would like to explore. And there is a film, actually, that I’ve wrapped already. It’s going to come out maybe end of this year or early next year, and it’s also a love story. I can’t talk too much about it, but I’m exploring things in that character which I haven’t explored before, and I really enjoyed that process.