Something really interesting happened a few months ago as I sat with my mom flipping through random TV channels. With its catchy music and visuals, Tinder’s “adulting can wait” ad campaign was doing really well back then and the instant my mom saw Anjali Sivaraman going goofy to her heart’s content in it, she said, “Isn’t she really cute?”
Now that might sound really basic until I specify the fact that my mom is someone who has always looked down at the idea of casual or speed dating and dating websites. However, Anjali brought such a vibe to the campaign that my mom instantly dropped her disdain for casual dating as she admired her playful energy.
Honestly, I can’t really blame my mom. Probably, it’s her piercing green eyes or her curly hair, you can’t really put a finger to it, but there is certainly something about this Bangalore girl that gets you instantly hooked.
Anjali has managed to create a unique space for herself in the entertainment industry within a short period of time. We have long witnessed the trend of versatile artists in the West with the likes of Miley Cyrus who are not confined to a single craft and explore singing, acting, and modeling together. This trend has hardly been witnessed in India. However, Anjali is subverting this narrative as she is trying to explore everything that she loves in the same go.
677 Likes, 2 Comments – Anjali Sivaraman (@anjalisivaraman) on Instagram: “#Throwback . . Super fun, super windy, super rainy shoot I did with @sumtrend @nittigoenka,…”
She shared in a recent interaction, “At the beginning of my career, I worked as an assistant for about nine months and it was the most depressing job ever because I had to do just one thing over and over and over again. Then I came to the realization that there are so many things that I absolutely love but was still not doing. I asked myself, why is it that we have to stick to the norm and just go and do that one particular job?”
Naturally blessed with a beautiful voice, Anjali soon started singing. She shares, “Back then I was also working as a director’s assistant. A while after that I also started modeling and that’s when it got a little tricky to balance it with a desk job. I came to a crossroads and I was like, “What would I rather do? Would I choose to be happy or would I rather make a steady income? I chose happiness and quit my job.”
As she goes about navigating through so much career-wise, there is a solid new-age Indian diva vibe that you are sure to get from Anjali. However, her versatility as an artist lies in the fact that she manages to get in the mold of the quintessential Indian bride equally effortlessly whenever she shoots for Sabyasachi (as she does as the effervescent Tinder girl), which by the way is quite often. In fact, chances are that her face is the very first that pops in your head whenever you think of a Sabyasachi model.
828 Likes, 11 Comments – Anjali Sivaraman (@anjalisivaraman) on Instagram: “#Repost @sabyasachiofficial ・・・ Whiter shades of pale. Jewellery Courtesy: Sabyasachi Heritage…”
Speaking on her equation with the designer, she says, “The reason why I absolutely love Sabyasachi as a designer and as a person is that he is so absolutely involved in his work. It’s very rare to see someone of his stature to be that incredibly involved in all the steps and with all his employees.”
She adds, “I also feel like the reason why Sabyasachi is at the top of his game is that he truly respects and understand the idea of womanhood.”
Anjali also featured in this month’s Vogue photoshoot, which is all about the colour nude as well as the idea of inclusivity in the Indian fashion industry. While the conversations around inclusivity and body positivity have finally begun in India, we have certainly been a little late and also, a little too slow.
As Anjali explains, “What I have observed in the past few years is that keeping a body positive image in the Indian fashion industry is extremely difficult, especially in this day and age. There is so much pressure to be a certain size and there is so much pressure to look a certain way and even if you are the “right” body type you have to fit under a very specific measurement or body fat type to be accepted.”
2,003 Likes, 20 Comments – Anjali Sivaraman (@anjalisivaraman) on Instagram: “Super excited about this shoot! My first ever @vogueindia editorial! And with the loveliest, most…”
However, she also accepts that she has been observing a positive change lately as she says, “Recently, it has started to become more inclusive. Earlier you would see very, very slim and skin and bone models on covers of all these fashion magazines but you can now see the real and regular women on the cover of these magazines.”
She adds, “Honestly, I feel social media has had a huge part to play in this body positive movement. There are so many body positive influencers who are turning the tide with their good work.”
Anjali feels that her work for the Tinder campaign has helped in bringing about a positive change. She says, “I think every single woman in India who has ever tried casual dating has been labeled for it. Ironically, men are openly encouraged for the same. This campaign actually gave us a chance to change that narrative.”
She adds, “On Tinder, you can be whosever you want to be and still have the chance to find someone who is like you. You can be goofy, have a great time, and that’s exactly what dating should be like and that’s why we have been saying ‘adulting can wait,’ the serious stuff can wait.”
However, ask her what part of her profession does she like the most and she very candidly says, “I enjoy all of them equally. I wouldn’t do any of that if I didn’t enjoy doing it. But yes, there are days when I don’t enjoy all of the things that I do but sometimes you have to do what you have to do so as to earn and sustain your livelihood and I am sure that there are days like that for everyone.”
Picture Source: Anjali Sivaraman’s Instagram