Zander Lama’s transition: From runway model to rising star in ‘Khalbali Records’

For model-turned-actor Zander Lama, life has been all about embracing the unexpected and finding joy in it. His childhood dream was to join the Army, but he landed in the glitzy and glamorous world of modeling, eventually facing the arc lights with the recently released web series, Khalbali Records, a musical drama series helmed by Devanshu Singh.

Throwing light on his character Ninja, an underground hip-hop artiste, Zander tells us, “Ninja, who hails from Chandni Chowk, Delhi, is raised by a single mother. To get into the skin of the character, I spent a few days in the locality. Moreover, since I was playing a rapper, I had to work on my breathing. I did pranayama and swimming on a daily basis as part of my homework. I also met a few underground rappers to know more about their lives.”

The star cast of the series includes Ram Kapoor, Saloni Khanna, and Saloni Batra. When asked if he received any tips from senior actors like Ram Kapoor, Zander says, “Their mere presence made me comfortable, as there was a lot of positive energy in the air. My mother, who watches shows starring Ram Kapoor, was astounded that her son was sharing screen space with the screen idol.”

Zander reveals that he was a bundle of nerves on the first day of shooting. “I couldn’t sleep the whole night. I called my acting teacher at 4 am, and he advised me to surrender myself to the director. I was given the rap portion on day one, and I ended up doing a lot of retakes. I was distressed because a lot of people have invested money in the project, and I did not want to waste anyone’s time. After I wrapped up my shoot, I locked myself in the bathroom and practiced rapping, so much so that my neighbours complained and I had to change the hotel soon after.” 

The actor says that his brush with acting began during the pandemic. “I didn’t get many modelling opportunities, obviously. I met my teacher, Santanu Bose, who is now the dean of the National School of Drama, and I began from ground zero. I think this project was my destiny, as the opportunity came to me soon after the lockdown. At first, I thought someone was pulling a fast one on me. Then, I met the show’s director, Devanshu, and I was soon on board.”

The actor now hopes to vicariously live as an Army personnel on screen some day. “My dream is to play an Army person. But I want to experiment with a lot of characters.”

Zander, who is known as the face of inclusivity in the Indian fashion circle, courtesy of his Korean, Nepali, and Indian roots, says that his modelling career gave a fillip to the aspirations of many budding models from mountainous regions. “It turned out to be a wonderful opportunity for people who looked like me. I launched myself as a skinny model when most of the other men were on the bulkier side. This opened the doors for people who looked like me and hail from small towns like Kulu, Dehradun, and Ladakh. I was only 18 when I took the plunge. It’s been a decade as a model now.”

sangeetha.p@timesgroup.com

X- @psangeetha