Vedang Raina opens up about 'Jigra' impacting his mental health

Vedang Raina, known for his debut in 'The Archies,' is set to share the screen with Alia Bhatt in the upcoming film 'Jigra.'

In a recent interview, he candidly discussed the emotional challenges he faced during the film's production.

While portraying intense scenes, Vedang found it difficult to detach from his character, unlike his co-star Alia Bhatt, who could seamlessly transition in and out of her role.

He said, "Alia would be in the scene, hit all the right notes with precision, and get out of the character as soon as she heard 'cut.' But I couldn't; it is not easy for me to come in and out of character. It did impact my mental health a bit."

To cope with the emotional demands, Vedang would isolate himself in his vanity van, creating a self-imposed solitary confinement.

He recounted, "On the very first day, I was to shoot a rather emotionally intense scene, and I shut myself in my vanity, put the lights off, switched off my phone, and told people to just leave me alone. I sat there listening to my music. Now, as luck would have it, the shot was supposed to happen at 3 pm but got delayed, and we started rolling around 8 pm. So, I was in that self-imposed solitary confinement for about 8 long hours, and it really started impacting me."

These experiences taught Vedang the importance of finding a balance and alternative methods to manage the emotional toll of acting.

He acknowledged, "Even when the scenes were done, I couldn't get out of that zone for 2-3 hours. I realized that it is not going to work like this, and after that, I have decided not to put myself through such a thing… it is not worth it, and I believe there are other ways to access that emotion; I just need to find which one works for me the best."

Directed by Vasan Bala, 'Jigra' features Vedang Raina and Alia Bhatt as siblings.

The film is co-produced by Alia and Karan Johar under the banners of Eternal Sunshine Productions and Dharma Productions and is slated for release on October 11.