6 days ago
‘I can't imagine myself doing anything else'
In 2021, Aria was Gauthami, a dorky teenager on a year-long break from studies. Then she decided to audition online to be a K-Pop idol. 'When I first introduced my dream to my family over dinner, everybody laughed and felt it was one of my crazy obsessions,' she says. Today, she's a member of the girl group X:IN and only the second such idol from India. After two years in Seoul, she's leaner, speaks English with an accent, has blonde hair and, for some, looks fairer. For her, though, that's just the process of growing up. Says Aria, 'Being an idol comes with a lot of downsides, but I love what I'm doing. I cannot imagine myself doing anything else.'
