Everyone is calling him the good-looking prince who is all set to pursue his first dream: Acting. Yuvraj Saheb Vrishankaditya Parmar of Santram- pur, son of Maharaja Paranjaya Aditya Parmar and Maharani Mandakini Singh, is great fun and an honest soul known for his maverick way of life.
It was on a dusty Sunday afternoon, much before Covid-19 locked us in, that I made my journey towards Safdarjung Enclave to interview someone who jokingly describes him- self as a passionate, ambitious go-getter who works hard to achieve his goals of acting. True to character, he reverberates famous actor and filmmaker Al Pacino’s words: “I asked God for a bike but I know God doesn’t work that way. So, I stole a bike and asked God for forgiveness.”
Currently living in his palace, Shri Joraver Vilas in distant Santrampur, Gujarat, he is enjoying a break year (Vishrank is all set to travel to New York to pursue a course in method acting), working on creating an Instagram presence for the family’s beautiful homestay by the lake and enjoying the company of the youngest entrant in the family, sister Kritiranjani Kumari’s newborn daughter.
This is when he is not making his usual trip to the home of Raja Saheb Digvijaya Singh of Raghogarh to enjoy some great home-cooked food, a sport both families love. He confesses he is very inspired by his nana, from whom he learns time management and the skills of being a democrat while nurturing one’s legacy.
Heritage for Vrishankaditya Parmar means the representation of culture and lineage in this fickle world. “I feel honoured and privileged to be born into such a huge legacy,” he says. He says, “My ancestor, His Highness Maharana Joraver Singh of Santrampur, was a true visionary who built the Joraver Niwas right by the lake. Our family is proudly keeping this legacy alive. While dad keeps the homestay alive, our mother is helping local farmers, craftsmen and floriculturists with her unique project, Santrampur Field and Flower.”
Vrishankaditya is a reticent actor who loves Bollywood and admires Shah Rukh Khan. “His (Shah Rukh’s) restraint and diction are legendary,” he marvels. Vrishankaditya has also been training in trapshooting from the age of five and has represented India in the junior In- dian team for shotgun (trap) shooting. A strong-willed guy, he wants to be known for his work as an assistant director in the Indian film industry and be known as someone who is “great at what he does”.
Sannjna is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree in media and communication at O.P Jindal Global University. In 2017, she wrote under the column Chronicles of Baby Baisa Diaries for the Royal Fables blog.
