📌 Key Points
- Vedang Raina creates unique music playlists for each character, including for ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’.
- He researched 1940s music, incorporating jazz, early Frank Sinatra, and local Punjabi folk for his role.
- Vedang used AI to gather historical details, such as July 1947 weather, for character authenticity.
- His co-star Sharvari also employs a similar music-based preparation method for their roles.
Vedang Raina reveals his unconventional preparation for ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’. To embody a pre-Partition Punjabi youth, he delved into 1940s music, from Frank Sinatra to local folk, and even utilized AI for historical context, showcasing a unique approach to character immersion.
Music as a Time Machine: Crafting a 1940s Persona
In what has been a very brief acting career, Vedang Raina has attempted to be diverse with his roles. He played an Anglo-Indian teen in his debut, Zoya Akhtar’s The Archies, following it up with a young Indian on death row in a foreign nation in Vasan Bala’s Jigra. His next, Main Vaapas Aaunga, sees him play a youngster from rural Punjab in pre-Partition times. In a chat with Hindustan Times, Vedang opens up on the character and his preparation for it.
The preparation for playing someone from the 1940s was interesting for Vedang. He relied on music to get into his character’s psyche. “I do this thing where I have a playlist for every character I play. What I found the most exciting about this was finding music from that time. So I did a lot of research on music actually heard during the 40s, specifically 1946-47, when the film is set. This is a world I didn’t think of. When I think of the Partition, I don’t think of the Western influences, but of course, they must be there. The British were still there, after all,” he tells us.
From Sinatra to Folk: Vedang’s Diverse Playlist
In fact, Sharvari, his co-star in the film, adds that they realised during the preparation that they both follow this method. “We discovered we both do it during the recce, and we discussed a lot of music,” says the actor.
What did that playlist comprise, then? With a smile, Vedang reveals: “A lot of jazz, one really old song of early Frank Sinatra that I’d never heard, and some of the more local Punjabi folk stuff.”
AI’s Role in Character Immersion for ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’
Another thing that helped Vedang get a sense of what the world was like back then was artificial intelligence. The actor adds, “Now, you have AI to get you access to information. I used that to find out what the weather was like in July 1947. Why would I not make use of such a good tool if it helps me understand the world of my character?”
Vedang’s innovative blend of musical immersion and technological research highlights a new frontier in acting preparation. His dedication to authenticity, using both art and AI, promises a truly nuanced performance in ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’.
