After debuting with Zoya Akhtar in ‘The Archies’, Vedang Raina appeared next to him Alia Bhatt in ‘Jigra’. The young actor is now ready to watch Imtiaz Alinext, ‘Main Vaapas Aunga’, co-starring Sharvari, Diljit Dosanjh and Naseeruddin Shah. As you get to know Vedang, he is intellectual, articulate and sensitive. He is also aware of his reality.As he is full of excitement ahead of the release of his film, we ask him if it is a dream for any actor to be in an Imtiaz Ali film. He quickly says, “I’d be lying if I said no.” He also told ETimes in this exclusive chat: “When this opportunity came up, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t most excited about the film being the one he directed. And then everything else. Obviously, it’s a story that I cared about enough to be a part of and feel that maybe I could do it justice. I felt the responsibility of playing a Sikh boy in Partition and then being a part of his film. Any actor in this country would be lying if they said that working in an Imtiaz Ali film is not a dream come true.” When Vedan was asked if he has ever faced a dilemma in his life in choosing between what his heart and mind says, like many characters in Imtiaz Ali’s film, he said, “I have.” He revealed how he was about to do an MBA and then came ‘The Archies’. “In my life, I always ended up doing things that I was told were good. Now that I look back, I know what was in my heart but I couldn’t process it. I loved science but I left it to do business in college. I never liked business, but I finished my graduation and was close to an MBA or a job in business. It’s so crazy that I think about it now, not because I’m an actor but because that’s not what I wanted to do. I’m sorry I went on the feed. In retrospect, it worked for me, but I was in many dilemmas. I remember at the time of Covid, I was doing my last year of university and so I did it from home. I didn’t know what I was going to do after graduation, so I remember looking for a job but I didn’t really connect with anything or enjoy anything in my path and then ‘The Archies’ happened. I consider myself lucky. Now I really understand what I feel passionately about and hopefully I’m doing that in my life.” ‘Main Vaapas Aunga’ will release on June 12.
