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Vedang Raina

Indian actor

Vedang Raina

Vedang Raina is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut as Reggie Mantle in Zoya Akhtar's musical teen film The Archies (2023), and has since starred in the action thriller Jigra (2024) and Main Vaapas Aaunga (2026).

Vedang Raina

Vedang Raina
Raina in 2024
Born
New Delhi, India
Alma materSVKM's NMIMS
OccupationActor
Years active2023–present

Vedang Raina is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut as Reggie Mantle in Zoya Akhtar's musical teen film The Archies (2023), and has since starred in the action thriller Jigra (2024) and Main Vaapas Aaunga (2026).

Early life

Vedang Raina was born in New Delhi into a Kashmiri family and grew up in Mumbai.[1] His father, Ayush Raina, is a businessman but had previously directed the film Horror Story.[2] He completed his schooling from Jamnabai Narsee School in Juhu and subsequently pursued his bachelor's degree from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (SVKM's NMIMS) in Vile Parle.[3] He started out small with college fests and events, enjoying the time he spent on stage.[4] Raina developed an interest in music and played the guitar years before he had thought about acting. Towards the end of his college years, he decided to venture into modelling and music.[5] He subsequently joined an acting agency to pursue it as a career.[6]

Career

After modelling for several brands, Raina was scouted by Zoya Akhtar for The Archies in 2021.[7][8] Raina claimed that he had not thought about acting professionally until that point.[9] He was officially announced to be playing the role of Reggie Mantle in May 2022.[10][11] It was released on Netflix in 2023. Udita Jhunjhunwala of Scroll.in wrote that he "brings the right amount of swag to the rakish Reggie".[12]

Raina starred alongside Alia Bhatt in Vasan Bala's action thriller Jigra (2024), in which he played the younger brother of Bhatt's character, who is imprisoned in South East Asia.[13] WION's Kriti Tulsiani thought that Raina made the most of his minimal screen time but was ultimately overshadowed by Bhatt. However, she praised the chemistry between the two.[14] It emerged as a box-office bomb.[15]

In 2026, Raina and Sharvari starred in Imtiaz Ali's romantic drama Main Vaapas Aaunga as a young couple separated by the 1947 Partition of India. He lent his vocals for the song "Maskara", which appears in the film.[16] In preparation for his role as a Sikh man in pre-Partition India, Raina undertook extensive research to better understand the emotional depth of the character.[17] In a positive review of the film for The Hindu, Anuj Kumar felt that, despite an earnest attempt, Raina's performance "suffers from a disconnect in character continuity" as he is unable to "project the inherent gravitas or enigmatic charm" that Naseeruddin Shah brings to the character's older incarnation.[18]

Filmography

Films

Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Title Role Notes Refs.
2023 The Archies Reggie Mantle [19]
2024 Jigra Ankur Anand [20]
2026 Main Vaapas Aaunga Ishar Singh Grewal [21]

Discography

Year Song Album Composer Ref.
2023 "Everything Is Politics" The Archies Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Aditi "Dot" Saigal [22]
2024 "Phoolon Ka Taaro Ka" Jigra R. D. Burman, Achint Thakkar [23]
"Jigra Title Track" Achint Thakkar [24]
"Jigra (Acoustic Version)" [25]
2026 "Maskara" Main Vaapas Aaunga A. R. Rahman [26]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2024 Filmfare OTT Awards Best Debut in a Film (Male) The Archies Won [27]

References

  1. ↑ Pawa, Anjana (3 April 2024). "Vedang Raina on Netflix's The Archies and Becoming Bollywood's Next Big Star". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on 25 April 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024. Despite those exciting plot points, Raina insists he lives a "really regular, simple life in Mumbai," where his Kashmiri family moved from Delhi when he was a kid.
  2. ↑ Sharvari In Vedang Raina's Huge Home! Struggle Stories, New Film Ki Baatein & Creamy Pepper Chicken!. Interviewed by Khan, Farah. 12 June 2026. Event occurs at 5:48. Retrieved 16 June 2026 – via YouTube.
  3. ↑ "All you need to know about Vedang Raina from The Archies". Lifestyle Asia India. 3 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "Vedang Raina Biography: Know Everything About the Actor Playing Reggie Mantle In The Archies". jagrantv. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "Who is Vedang Raina? Everything you need to know about The Archies actor". Pinkvilla. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "Who is Vedang Raina? All you need to know about 'The Archies' star". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "The Archies: Is Vedang Raina The New Hearthrob On the Block?". Zee News. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Sur, Prateek (13 December 2023). "Year-Ender 2023: How 'The Archies' Star Vedang Raina Has Become This Year's Breakout Fashion Trendsetter". Outlook India.
  9. ↑ "Zoya Akhtar On 'The Archies': We Took Themes That Matter To Gen Z And Mixed Them With Nostalgia". Outlook India. PTI. 5 December 2023.
  10. ↑ "The Archies' Vedang Raina Looks Like Young Ranveer Singh? Internet Thinks So". TimesNow. 9 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  11. ↑ "The Archies: 5 Reasons Vedang Raina's Reggie Mantle Is A Must-Watch". news.abplive.com. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  12. ↑ Jhunjhunwala, Udita (7 December 2023). "'The Archies' review: A good-looking nostalgia piece". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  13. ↑ "Suhana Khan in action-thriller, Vedang Raina films for Jigra; A look at what's next for The Archies gang". Pinkvilla. 8 December 2023. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  14. ↑ Tulsiani, Keith (11 October 2024). "Jigra movie review: Alia Bhatt is the real 'jigra' of Vasan Bala's film". WION. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  15. ↑ "Jigra has big drop On Monday". Box Office India. 15 October 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  16. ↑ Talwar, Puja (25 May 2026). "Vedang hopes to revive the singer-actor era with 'Maskara'". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  17. ↑ "INTERVIEW | Vedang Raina On Main Vaapas Aaunga, His Favourite Imtiaz Ali Film, Handling Hype and Chasing Better Roles". ETV Bharat News. 5 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  18. ↑ Kumar, Anuj (11 June 2026). "'Main Vaapas Aaunga' movie review: Imtiaz Ali's love story for the ages". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: Zoya Akhtar to launch Amitabh Bachchan's grandson, Agastya Nanda with Suhana Khan & Khushi Kapoor". Pinkvilla. 19 August 2021. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  20. ↑ "Alia Bhatt wraps up Vasan Bala's Jigra, drops pics with on-screen brother Vedang Raina". Hindustan Times. 22 February 2024.
  21. ↑ "Imtiaz Ali's next with Diljit Dosanjh titled 'Main Vaapas Aaunga'; teaser unveiled". The Hindu. 13 March 2026. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  22. ↑ "Meet the charmer: Debutant Vedang Raina sings his first song in the[sic] The Archies". The Tribune. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  23. ↑ "Actor Vedang Raina reflects on singing Phoolon Ka Taaron Ka for Jigra". India Today. 3 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  24. ↑ "Jigra Title Track: Vedang Raina's High-Power Vocals Remind Us To Find Courage". www.ndtv.com. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  25. ↑ Saregama (15 October 2024). Jigra - Full Album. Retrieved 22 October 2024 – via YouTube.
  26. ↑ "'Maskara' song from 'Main Vaapas Aaunga' out: Netizens react to Sharvari and Vedang Raina's chemistry and on-screen romance". The Times of India. 5 May 2026. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  27. ↑ "Winners of the Danube Properties Filmfare OTT Awards 2024: Full List Out | Filmfare.com". www.filmfare.com. Retrieved 2 December 2024.