SHARVARI AND THE ART OF JOY

With an action-packed year ahead of her, the rising star wants to invest in ideas that spell family, bring her closer to her 'authentic self', and add diversity to her work.

- Snigdha Ahuja

Shoots can get tedious. Boring even. But, what happens when you have a subject so full of energy and enthusiasm that everyone on set is shaken out of their over-caffeinated drudgery? Well, the hours go by in a flash (pun intended), fashion feels like an endless pursuit of fun, and poses come as easy as bad news on a good day of doomscrolling. Sharvari will vouch for it. She was there, and she made it happen.

Much like the great mononyms of our times (Beyoncé, Banksy... Bollywood?) Sharvari—who rarely uses her second name, Wagh—would like to manifest super stardom. “2026 is a busy year—and, it’s a place I have dreamt of being in. So, there are no complaints there,” says the 28-year-old, when we catch up over a video call a few days after the shoot. Busy may be an understatement—her upcoming projects hit the screens just a month apart. First, it is Main Wapas Aaunga scheduled for June 12. Directed by Imtiaz Ali, it also stars Diljit Dosanjh and Vedang Raina, with the trailer offering a glimpse of a period, cross-timeline love story. With a score by AR Rahman, it adds to the filmmaker-oriented narrative of work that underlines her upcoming projects. Among these, Alpha is arguably the most anticipated, with a female-first positioning in a genre where they are rarely put at the centre—action. She stars alongside Alia Bhatt, adding to the popular YRF (Yash Raj Films) Spy Universe, which has featured films such as War 2 (2025), Tiger 3 (2023), and Pathaan (2023). Known for being at the forefront of family-oriented films (with love and drama at their core) Sharvari also stars in filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya’s next, Yeh Prem Mol Liya, opposite Ayushmann Khurrana, a project that may also witness a 2026 release.