Star Light Star Bright

Shapeshifting, incredibly talented, and bold, Janina Gavankar is more than an actor. She’s had a career in music, and is a true artist in the classical sense of the word. In an exclusive, she talks to Bazaar about choices, feminism, fashion, diversity, and why there’s no such thing as a big break.

- Nonita Kalra

SHE OWNS A ROOM IN A MATTER OF MINUTES. When Janina Gavankar walks into the LA Theatre on a sultry morning in October, she is dressed in a pair of distressed denims, her face is free of any makeup, and she’s just parked her car—she could have been the girl next door. But before you knew it, Gavankar slipped into character. Her tall, athletic frame morphed into a movie star’s, as she moved effortlessly from frame to frame during the photoshoot, channelling her high-octane energy to reveal the breadth of her talent. She danced, she sang, she posed.

Bazaar was at the iconic movie hall where Charlie Chaplin’s masterpiece City Lights premiered in 1931 (with Albert Einstein in attendance). Reportedly modelled on the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, the LA Theatre has a 50-ft-high ceiling, an imposing staircase, grand chandeliers, silk wall coverings, and a crystal and marble fountain. It proved to be the perfect setting for Gavankar’s India exclusive.

Part of the entertainment industry for 15 years, she has built a singularly unique and diverse career. From playing a shape-shifting school teacher in the vampire series True Blood (2008-2013), a lesbian in the long running series The L-Word (2007-2009) to, most recently, giving a sensitive performance in the criticallyacclaimed film on race relations, Blindspotting (2018), there is nothing stereotypical about Gavankar. She has chosen roles that are daring and in each one, she has always stood out. And the minute she mastered a certain kind of character, she moved on to something entirely different. Hers is a career spent exploring opportunities that were previously closed to female actors.