AROOJ AFTAB IS not a fashion person, but she definitely has a stage look: dark colours, sherwani jacket, statement shoes. “It’s been working well for me so far, but I guess it’s in need of an upgrade,” she says. “It can be difficult, you know. When you ask designers to make something androgynous for you to wear on stage, they run away screaming. Like, what did I say?
“I can’t go on stage in a lehnga or a sari,” she continues, one eye on her cat, which I can’t see because Aftab’s Zoom window has a virtual filter blacking out her background. This December evening, she sits in a dimly lit room in Brooklyn, wearing a black sweatshirt, accessorized minimally with thick black-frame glasses and a silver link chain necklace. This combination of aesthetic choices has the unintended effect of making it seem like her face is floating in a void, her voice emanating from some other dimension. “Roopa Mahadevan can wear a sari because she’s a badass Carnatic vocalist. I’m not a desi artist. I’m a New York diaspora artist.
“But then, working with designers and stylists is the inevitable path for someone who’s blowing up, right?” Aftab says wryly. It’s been a few weeks since the 36-year-old artist learned that she’d scored two Grammy nominations, in the best global performance (for the utterly visceral, evocative track “Mohabbat” from her third album Vulture Prince) and best new artist categories.
Denne historien er fra February 2022-utgaven av GQ India.
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Denne historien er fra February 2022-utgaven av GQ India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
In Haider We Hope
The role of a fashion designer is one usually forged in chaos and fired down by “creative differences”. But on the eve of a new Tom Ford directorship, Haider Ackermann has never felt more free.
VIVA VARUN
Varun Dhawan on balancing fatherhood and film shoots, and the pressure of making the right choices.
PRATIK GANDHI'S QUIET EUPHORIA
The actor―who delivered a knockout performance in Madgaon Expresson the high of a hit and the pressure of sustaining success.
THE COMEBACK KID
Buoyed by his performance in Singham Returns, Arjun Kapoor doubles down on creativity.
SCRIPTING STARDOM
Vicky Kaushal on the thrill and terror of stepping onto a Sanjay Leela Bhansali set, charting an unconventional career, and making sense of the money game.
A TRYST WITH STARDOM
Triptii Dimri segued from her left-field roots straight to the animal park. The gamble has paid off.
WALKING A TIGHTROPE
Following the monster success of Stree 2, Rajkummar Rao opens up about navigating artistic fulfilment and box-office glory.
THE MAHARAJA OF MEHRAULI
It's been an action-packed year for Tarun Tahiliani, the emperor of Indian couture.
LONE WARRIOR
Kartik Aaryan on why, in an industry that only watches out for its own, he has to blow his own trumpet.
HITS AND HEARTBREAKS
Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali talks about redeeming himself with the extraordinary Chamkila, dealing with star-studded setbacks, and why we've forgotten to make love stories.
