Subiksha Shivakumar Wants You to Untag Her

The multi-hyphenate creative spills the beans on the politics of the industry, being on social media, and why 'model' trumps the 'actor-influencer'.

- Tanishka Aggarwal

Before I met Subiksha Shivakumar for our conversation over a Zoom call, my honest (yet limited) impression was that I was interviewing another fashion model.

However, what struck me as soon as we started chatting was that she couldn't be boxed by a professional tag. Shivakumar's list of occupations spans many realms- content creation, acting, makeup artistry, dancing, styling, creative direction, and of course, modelling. When asked how she would define herself, she finally admits to a title: “A multidisciplinary creative”. As she trails off, she hurriedly adds, “And yes, I also have a food business.”

Interestingly, when asked about her personal style, the 26-year-old immediately draws parallels with a medley of flavours, citing Aacharam, the Vellore and Mumbai-based family food business run alongside her mother Aarthi Murali, and sister, Akshara, who is also a model. Think an innovative reimagination of traditional Tamilian recipes, such as the brand's 'Modak in the Wild', a truffle-oil mushroom modak, mixed with a savoury sesame podi. “Just that dish alone is an example of my personal style,” says the Mumbai-based creative, who has appeared in campaigns for the likes of Indian couturiers Anamika Khanna and Amit Aggarwal, luxury lifestyle brand Good Earth India, and for Levi's India in her early modelling days, alongside actor Deepika Padukone.