After making his debut with Zoya Akhtar in ‘The Archies’, Vedang Raina appeared alongside Alia Bhatt in ‘Jigra’. The young actor is now all set to be seen in Imtiaz Ali‘s next, ‘Main Vaapas Aunga’, co-starring Sharvari, Diljit Dosanjh and Naseeruddin Shah. As we meet Vedang, he’s intellectual, articulate and sensitive. He also is aware of his reality.As he’s filled with excitement ahead of the release of his film, we ask him if it’s a dream for any actor to be an Imtiaz Ali film. He is instant to say, “I’d be lying if I say no.” He further told ETimes in this exclusive chat, “When this opportunity came by, I would be lying if I say I wasn’t the most excited about the film that it’s a film directed by him. And then everything else next. Obviously, it’s a story that I cared enough to be a part of and care enough to feel like maybe I could do justice to it. I felt a sense of responsibility playing a sikh boy during partition and then being a part of his film. Any actor in this country would be lying if they said it’s not a dream come true to work in an Imtiaz Ali film.” When further asked Vedang if he’s ever faced a dilemma in his life while choosing between what his heart says and mind says, like many characters like an Imtiaz Ali film, he said, “I have.” He revealed how he was about to pursue MBA and that’s when ‘The Archies’ came his way. “In my life, always I ended up doing things that were told to me are good. Now that I look back I know what was in my heart but I wasn’t able to process that. I loved Science but I left it to do business in college. I never enjoyed business, but I finished my graduation and was close to doing an MBA or a job in business. I find it very crazy now that I think of it, not because I’m an actor but because that’s not what I wanted to do. I feel I kept going with the flow. In retrospect it worked for me, but I was in many dilemmas. I remember during Covid, I was doing my last year of college so I did it from home. I didn’t know what I would do after I graduate so I remember looking for jobs but I really didn’t connect with anything or I didn’t enjoy anything coming my way and then ‘The Archies’ happened. I consider myself lucky. Now I really understand what I really feel passionate about and luckily I’m just doing that in my life.” ‘Main Vaapas Aunga’ is set for release on June 12.
