The Changing Tide

KIARA ADVANI's three mega hits this year alone have propelled her even further along the highway of superstardom. Ashwini Arun Kumar spoke to the actor to unravel her steep ascent on a journey that truly might have been about self-actualisation

-  Ashwini Arun Kumar

For reasons unknown, the narrative around ‘change’ is always shrouded in philosophy. That it is inevitable and that it happens. But some don’t wait for change to occur. No, they take matters into their own hands. When you meet Kiara Advani, it becomes abundantly clear that she is one of those people. The actor has change on her mind and, subconsciously or otherwise, she is switching things up for herself. It is obvious in the way she suggests experimenting with her look for the purpose of this shoot – “Let’s do something different, no?” For ‘different’, she proposes using clip-in front bangs, something she confesses she has never done before. Her enthusiasm is infectious. We oblige. When the metal clacks and the hair is in place, Kiara slips into character, one she has visualised not hours but days before this shoot, with astounding clarity. As the camera flashes, any vestiges of the person from before evaporate.

When we speak the following day, sans the bangs and off-the-ramp couture clothes, she is back to her usual self – warm, good-natured and someone so invested in conversations that she remembers the last time we spoke. For the record, it was a year and a half ago at The St. Regis Mumbai, when she was shooting her firstever Femina cover. “I cannot believe that our last meeting was so long ago!” she exclaims. Back then, she was on the cusp of superstardom and in a happy relationship with fellow actor Sidharth Malhotra, and, looking back, able to conceal her excitement about both.