![\"anjali-sivaraman\"](\"https:\/\/img.onmanorama.com\/content\/dam\/mm\/en\/default-images\/default-image.jpg?w=845&h=440\" "\\"anjali-sivaraman\\"")
<\/p>\nAnjali Sivaraman was just 21 when she landed her breakout modeling gig, starring alongside Ranveer Singh in the viral VIVO advertisement. In the ad, she played a mysterious girl determined to get a selfie with the actor \u2014 a playful role that quickly made her a familiar face. Now, Anjali is carving a space for herself in the film industry, most recently as the lead in \u2018Bad Girl,\u2019 a Tamil film produced by acclaimed filmmaker Vetrimaaran.<\/p>\n
Anjali credits that early ad with opening the right doors: \u201cThat campaign really put me on the map. After that, casting directors started noticing me, and my modeling career took off.\u201d \u00a0But acting was always the dream. She made her screen debut in the web series \u2018PM Selfiewallie,\u2019 followed by a role in Netflix\u2019s \u2018Cobalt Blue.\u2019 However, it was her performance in the teen drama \u2018Class\u2019 that proved to be a turning point. \u201cI think it was after Class that people started seeing me as an actor and not just a model,\u201d she said. It was also the show that caught the attention of \u2018Bad Girl\u2019 director Varsha Bharath.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got a call to audition in Chennai. In real life, I\u2019m not a very glamorous person, and Varsha wanted someone just like that. After a few makeup and costume trials, I read the script \u2014 and I immediately connected with the character, Ramya. She felt like me,\u201d Anjali shared. Born in Kerala and raised across various parts of the country, Anjali grew up in a family steeped in creativity and discipline. Her father, Vinod Sivaraman, was a pilot in the Indian Air Force, and her mother is renowned playback singer Chitra Iyer. Though she spent most of her formative years in Bengaluru, Anjali later moved to Mumbai to chase her artistic aspirations.<\/p>\n
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\t \tAnjali with her mother and singer Chitra Iyer and sister Adithi. Photo: Instagram\/ chitraiyerofficial<\/p>\n
Like many newcomers, her journey wasn\u2019t straightforward. She initially worked behind the scenes \u2014 first as an assistant director in an agency, then as a music producer\u2019s assistant. She even joined a band as a singer. It was during this time that a college friend, who was assisting director Dibakar Banerjee, informed her about the VIVO ad opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was all very bizarre,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI was naive and didn\u2019t realize how big it would be. But things just started happening. In 2019, I landed my first Sabyasachi campaign. I even sang for a Tinder ad, which also went viral.\u201d She also appeared in a modeling shoot alongside the late Sushant Singh Rajput. \u201cThat was actually the first time my face was clearly seen on screen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Despite her success in modeling, Anjali faced skepticism when she pivoted to acting. \u201cI was told I didn\u2019t have the conventional looks for an actor. The argument was that I wasn\u2019t foreign enough or Indian enough \u2014 I didn\u2019t fit into any box,\u201d she said. Today, she\u2019s breaking those very molds \u2014 and looking toward home. Anjali says she\u2019s open to acting in Malayalam cinema, where her mother made her mark. \u201cThere\u2019s one project in the pipeline, but I can\u2019t share details just yet. Still, yes \u2014 I\u2019d love to be a part of Mollywood,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\t \tAnjali Sivaraman. Photo: sausinbis<\/p>\n
She signed on to \u2018Bad Girl\u2019 primarily because of Vetrimaaran\u2019s involvement. \u201cCreatively, I was hyped to be part of something he produced \u2014 his storytelling is so grounded and powerful,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I was really intrigued by the fact that it was a woman filmmaker directing. I wanted to see how she would tell a story from a female perspective. Varsha and I had so many conversations \u2014 we even watched Lady Bird together to understand the emotional tempo we wanted. We even made a playlist! We were on the same page from day one.\u201d In addition, Anjali sang a lullaby Home in the movie composed by Amit Trivedi. \u201cThis is the first time that I got to sing in a film I acted in and that too in Tamil. I am overjoyed I could sing for a song composed by Amit Trivedi. My mother too is super proud,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As for the film\u2019s provocative title, Anjali explained: \u201cBad Girl is meant to be ironic. Even when women follow every rule in the book \u2014 balancing home, work, and expectations \u2014 they\u2019re still often labeled \u2018bad\u2019 if they don\u2019t conform. The title questions that judgment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anjali Sivaraman was just 21 when she landed her breakout modeling gig, starring alongside Ranveer Singh in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[263],"tags":[39642,39632,39636,39640,39633,39644,18,117,39637,39643,19,39635,17,39641,3302,39638,327,12525,39634,39639],"class_list":{"0":"post-54556","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-ai-powered-talent-discovery","9":"tag-anjali-sivaraman","10":"tag-anjali-sivaraman-interview","11":"tag-artificial-intelligence-in-casting","12":"tag-bad-girl-movie","13":"tag-breaking-stereotypes-in-acting","14":"tag-eire","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-female-lead-role","17":"tag-how-to-become-an-actress-in-india","18":"tag-ie","19":"tag-indian-model-turned-actress","20":"tag-ireland","21":"tag-llm-for-script-analysis","22":"tag-malayalam-cinema","23":"tag-modeling-career","24":"tag-movies","25":"tag-tamil-cinema","26":"tag-vetrimaaran-production","27":"tag-vivo-advertisement-actress"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}