Let's Talk About Style, Baby

Rahul Khanna on the Fashionably Pernia Podcast, Sept 2024

Cottonworld, Spring/ Summer 2024

Christian Louboutin x GQ India, June 2023

 

India Today, April 2023

Harper's Bazaar India, June 2020

Proust Questionnaire, The Leela Magazine, Autumn 2019

First Of Many, The Indian Express, November 2019

In a career spanning over two decades, Rahul Khanna has done around a dozen film projects, many of which have left an indelible impression in the minds of the audience. The actor who was seen in Netflix series Leila earlier this year, is fondly remembered for movies including Bollywood/Hollywood, Raqeeb, Love Aaj Kal and Wake Up Sid.

The model-turned-actor has remained a favourite television anchor starting 1990s, and has also hosted various award shows and B-town's big events. From endorsements to writing, there's nothing that Rahul hasn't done. But one of his most striking work is Deepa Mehta's directorial 1947: Earth, the second movie in Mehta's elemental trilogy (Fire, Earth and Water). It was a story about a group of friends, set in 1947, against the backdrop of the partition of India and Pakistan, and seen through the eyes of a young Parsi girl. 1947: Earth was also India's official entry for the Academy Awards in 1999.

But how did Rahul, who was already hosting shows on MTV, land the role of Hassan in 1947: Earth, which also got him the Filmfare Award for Best Debut? 

Here's what the actor shared:

Architectural Digest India—The Alibag Issue, March 2019

RAHUL KHANNA

The dapper actor began visiting Alibag as a teenager, after his mother’s best friend, an early ‘pioneer’ to the area, built a home. Nowadays he visits his brother, who can be spotted regularly on the jetty. “I love the sense of community, and that everyone knows everyone,” Rahul says. “It’s a much gentler social ecosystem than in Mumbai. People socialize, but it’s low impact. And everything is outdoors, which we don’t have in Mumbai.” Rahul is photographed here in a Kunal Maniar-designed pool and garden

Photographer: Bikramjit Bose, Stylist: Tanya Vohra, Hairstylist and Make-Up Artist: Akgun Manisali, Swimming trunks: Orlebar Brown, Words: Gayatri Rangachari Shah

100 Pipers Campaign (India), January 2019

The Art of Packing, Mint, April 2018

Cosmopolitan Man India, November 2017

Deccan Herald, July 2017

Why We Broke Up

Dear B.A.

Can you believe we’ve been together well over two decades now? How time flies.

I’m not sure if you know this, but you were my first.

Hindustan Times, January 7th, 2017

Architectural Digest India—The Cinema Issue, October 2016

Travel + Leisure, September 2016

Open Magazine, August 2016

Read the full story online:

Rahul Khanna: The Internet's Latest Boyfriend

Lenovo Commercial

Architechture Of A Suit

Forbes Life, India, March 2016

Like Hassan, the shy and reticent masseur he played in his debut film 1947 Earth, Rahul Khanna is a man of few words. Sitting at a posh coffee shop in South Mumbai, where ForbesLife India meets him for a freewheeling chat, the VJ-turned-model-turned-actor takes his time to choose his words carefully. But when he speaks, a few sentences to each question, the articulate style icon turns heads with his clarity of thought, just like he does on screen, playing the suave Yousaf Rana in The Americans, an espionage series set in the Cold War era. 

Despite father Vinod Khanna being a Bollywood star, Rahul Khanna never grew up as the “star child”. His introverted nature is reflected in his aversion for all things flashy; instead his wardrobe is replete with pieces that are classic and “conservative”. “I want a long-term relationship with my wardrobe. I love the idea of savouring pieces by reusing them over and over rather than discarding them after just one or two outings,” says the 43-year-old.

While Khanna loves owning beautiful and stylish clothes, he says he dislikes the process of acquiring them. “In show business, so much time is spent on trying on clothes that when it comes to my personal wardrobe, the very thought of shopping exhausts me. So I try and do it as infrequently as possible.” he says. But once he finds something he likes, he tends to buy it in multiples, in case he can’t find it again.

Here’s his masterclass on the 10 must-haves in a man’s wardrobe: