A BRIGHT FUTURE

Actor Radhika Apte sparkles in a state of body positivity...and in the discovery of what truly makes her happy.

- VANDENT BILAL

We are standing barefoot on Palolem beach in South Goa, surrounded by unspoiled sand and the sounds of waves flirting with the shore. Shooting during off season has its advantages, for there is not a soul in sight excepting the Bazaar India crew... and two inquisitve street dogs who want to know if we are carrying any biscuits. Radhika Apte is sitting on the shoreline, the camera capturing her every move, and just then a a sizable wave slaps her in the back, sending the actor tumbling into an explosion of foamy water...and then into peals of laughter as she scrambles to safety.

What strikes me in that moment, and throughout the covershoot that continues for many hours after the sun has set fire to the ocean, is just how comfortable Radhika seems in her skin. She gets in and out of outfits with speed and ease, behind a makeshift changing area that is essentially just a bedsheet held up by two team members. And when she is laying in the sand, water and waves threatening to imperil her carefully applied makeup, she seems to care less about her mascara or thighs or stomach, and more about the moment being captured in its essence. There is an ease of being, a free-spiritness that seems to stem from not taking herself— and life—too seriously.

Weeks later, when I interview her over a Zoom call, I notice some of the same unconstrained energy...as if the walls have fallen away, as has any acute desire to conform or people-please.