Cover star Suhana Khan on kindness, curiosity, and finding her own rhythm

Suhana Khan was born into a spotlight few can imagine. With one of the world’s most beloved men as her father, anonymity was never really an option. Yet my earliest and most vivid memory of Suhana has nothing to do with red carpets or debut announcements. It goes back to a social media post she shared as a young teenager. Thoughtful and quietly powerful, it spoke about appearances, beauty, and skin colour. For someone so young to articulate that vulnerability with such clarity felt rare and, at the time, deeply refreshing. 

When our paths crossed in 2023, we were both at the cusp of a beginning. Suhana was gearing up for her debut with Netflix’s The Archies while I was stepping into my role at Bazaar India. She was soft-spoken, poised, and deeply thoughtful, someone who chose her words carefully and with intention. She had a way of charming a room, even in moments when she wasn’t seeking attention. Across our many brief interactions, what stayed with me most was her shy smile and a warmth that felt entirely her own. 

We first worked together in 2024 on a fun piece of content, though this cover had been in the works long before that. Cut to July 2025 in Paris, the countryside, a day filled with promise and looks that felt light and joyful. What strikes you about Suhana is the contrast. Off camera, she is gentle and reserved. In front of it, she becomes someone else entirely. She sheds her inhibitions, meets the lens with confidence, and moves with an ease that feels instinctive. Watching her is a delight, a reminder that this is only the beginning. 

I speak to Suhana on a December afternoon, just days before Christmas. She has taken some time off from shooting King, her big screen debut, though it’s clear she would much rather be back on set. When I ask her to describe herself, she laughs and admits she had written something down. She talks about contradictions, about being both an introvert and an extrovert. Someone who can spend an entire day in bed or just as easily be at the gym. “A homebody who loves being busy,” Suhana adds. A true Gemini, she chuckles at the familiarity of it all. 

“Why are we all focusing on what we look like? There are other important things. Like I’d rather be compassionate, kind, interesting, and fun, and make someone else feel good in my presence than obsessing over looks.”

She tells me she doesn’t think much about public perception and prefers to stay private. What she does know is that she is deeply sensitive, perhaps even hypersensitive, and she sees that as a good thing. There is no attempt to frame it as resilience or armour. Just an honest acknowledgement of how she feels the world. “I try to be a better person every day. I think I’m a kind person and I really take pride in that,” the actor shares. What matters most to her, she says, is kindness. No matter her mood or the situation, she tries to treat people well. It’s a promise she made to herself years ago, one she takes pride in keeping, even on difficult days.

“I try to be a better person every day. I think I’m a kind person and I really take pride in that.”

Cinema, for Suhana, has always been part of everyday life. Growing up, stories and films were constant companions. Watching movies together was how her family bonded, the shared language they returned to again and again. Somewhere in that familiarity, she began to feel the pull to tell her own stories too.

As a child, she was encouraged to balance creativity with discipline. Acting in school plays initially felt like something she was pushed into, awkward and slightly uncomfortable. The shift came when she began to care. When she wanted the role, not because she had to, but because she wanted to be on stage.

Boarding school marked a turning point. It was there that her interest deepened into something more serious. She remembers auditioning for a play and being cast in the chorus instead of the part she had hoped for. The disappointment caught her off guard. She cried alone in her room, surprised by how strongly she felt about it. “I was so upset and disappointed. And I think that’s when I knew that I really wanted to play those parts and enjoy the thrill of being on stage,” Suhana recalls.

When I ask her what drives her today, she doesn’t hesitate. “Curiosity, purpose, but most of all, passion. It’s all of it,” she adds. Suhana speaks about knowing that it is hard work that pays off in the end, even when the results aren’t immediately visible. Motivation, for her, doesn’t come from public validation or outcomes that can be measured right away. It comes from what happens on set. The energy in the room. The feeling that the people she is working with are happy, that something is coming together collectively.

Process, for Suhana, matters more than outcome. She explains that even something as simple as this cover is never really about how it will be received once it’s out in the world. What stays with her is the experience of making it. That, she says, is what gives her the most satisfaction.

The conversation shifts, naturally, to fashion and self-expression. Suhana knows her sense of style is often talked about, though she’s quick to play it down. “I don’t see myself as the most fashionable person,” the actor confesses. However, she admits that she loves clothes and dressing up. For a long time, she avoided experimenting. “I just wanted to do the same hair, the same make-up, the same kind of silhouettes,” she reveals. She didn’t plan her looks or think too much about how she was presenting herself. She would simply show up and let it be. That has slowly changed. She’s begun to enjoy the process of curating a look, not to follow trends, but to understand what feels like her. She gravitates towards simple, elegant pieces, clothes that flatter her and make her feel good. It’s instinctive, not performative.

As her confidence has grown, so has her willingness to experiment. When it comes to making decisions, instinct leads, logic follows, along with a fair amount of overthinking. And then, she adds with a smile, there are her parents. “I have to ask my parents. They get the final say,” she reveals.

She accepts she hasn’t quite surprised herself yet. It still feels early, and she knows she’s holding back. Magazine covers, runways, the idea of walking a show—all make her nervous. She laughs, confessing that her biggest fear is falling. For a long time, she didn’t think she would do a fashion cover at all. And yet, here she is, taking that step, carefully and on her own terms.

Curiosity, for Suhana, comes from staying rooted in the present. She doesn’t allow herself to spiral too far into how things will be received or what might come next. Each project, she says, is simply another day at work, and that is what excites her the most. Being on set is where she feels most alive. Tired, happy, overwhelmed, frustrated. Whatever the emotion, she would rather feel it there. It’s where she belongs.

“I like them [friendships] easy going and that we both add to each other’s lives, and bring happiness and ease instead of stress.”

Away from work, her world is intentionally small. The actor keeps a close circle, and friendship, especially female friendship, is something she deeply values. She speaks about relationships that are built on ease rather than expectation. On being able to call someone on a good day or a bad one, to want to see them even when you don’t want to see anyone else. “I understand when my friends can’t be there all the time, and I think they understand when I can’t be. I like friendships that don’t have this pressure. I like them easy going and that we both add to each other’s lives, and bring happiness and ease instead of stress,” she explains. The people she gravitates towards are energetic, positive, and deeply in love with life. Being around them lifts her, makes the world feel lighter, more manageable. Suhana believes effort matters, but understanding matters more. Life gets busy, she says, and the friendships that last are the ones that allow room for that.

The 25-year-old reads to unwind, drawn largely to fiction and fantasy. At the moment, she’s immersed in a romance series, A Court of Thorns and Roses, turning to classics when she wants to slow down and savour language, underlining lines and collecting words the way some people collect souvenirs. Creativity, she feels, doesn’t need to announce itself loudly. Sometimes it’s simply about paying attention.

Inspiration, unsurprisingly, comes from home. Her parents remain her closest confidants, her first call in moments of uncertainty. She laughs as she describes the contrast in their advice. Her father, expansive and poetic, offers layered reflections on life. Her mother, refreshingly direct, cuts through the noise with blunt clarity. Between the two, she finds balance. When the pressure builds, she narrows her focus. Blinkers on. One moment, one task, one day at a time. Thinking too much about perception, she knows, is a rabbit hole she chooses not to enter.

For Suhana, the meaning of beauty has evolved over time. “Why are we all focusing on what we look like?” she asks. “There are other important things. Like I’d rather be compassionate, kind, interesting, and fun, and make someone else feel good in my presence than obsess over looks.” She adds that it’s no longer about how one looks, but how one feels. Feeling happy, mentally and physically, is key. For her, sticking to a healthy routine and being around people who lift her up give her contentment.

When asked what she’s most looking forward to in the year ahead, she confesses that she doesn’t know. And she’s comfortable with that. All she hopes for is more busy days, more work, more time doing what she loves. For now, that’s enough.

Legacy, she says, feels like a distant thought. It’s too early to define. What she does believe in is the idea that hard work, focus, and commitment can move mountains. It’s something she often reminds herself, and something she hopes might resonate with others who feel unsure of where to begin. And in a lighter moment, she tells me the song currently on loop is Diljit Dosanjh’s Senorita. A small, joyful detail that feels fitting.

Suhana stands at the edge of something new. More than a surname, more than the weight of lineage, she represents a new generation that values sincerity over spectacle, process over perception. A young woman with her own inner life, her own rhythm, and a quiet determination to find her way. Not by trying to outrun expectation, but by growing into herself, one considered step at a time.

Editor and Interview: Rasna Bhasin (@rasnabhasin)

Photographer: Xavi Gordo (@xavigordo); Agency, Uno Artists (@unoartists)

Stylist: Priyanka Kapadia (@priyankarkapadia)

Cover Design: Mandeep Singh Khokhar (@mandy_khokhar19)

Make-up Artist: Aurelia Liansberg (@aurelia.liansberg)

Hair Artist: Andre Cueto (@hairbyandre_)

Editorial Coordinator: Shalini Kanojia (@shalinikanojia)

Production: 1718 production (@1718production)

Digital Assistant: Mariana Maglio (@marianamaglio)

Light Assistant: Pietro Frizzi (@pietrofrizzi)

Style Team: Bidipto Das (@iambidipto_) , Rhia Kapoor (@rhiakapoor)

Fashion Assistants (on-ground): Sofia Dominguez Ascui, Elisa González Herrero (@elisaglezh), Valentina Vezzoso

Location: Château Bouffémont (@chateaubouffemont) at My Private Villas (@myprivatevillas; Special thanks to (for location): Michelle Ngadino (@yes.its.michelle) at BAM!BAM! Agency (@bambamagency)

Artist Agency: Bottomlinemedia Pvt ltd (@bottomlinemedia)

Managed by: Tanaaz Bhatia (@tanaaz), Vishaka Wadhvani (@vishaka

Suhana is wearing a butter ripped top and fringed embroidered skirt from C Plus Series (@cplusseries); Love Torque necklace in white gold and diamonds; Love earrings in pink gold and diamonds; Love earrings in white gold and diamonds; Love earrings in yellow gold and diamonds; Love Unlimited bracelets in white gold and yellow gold; Love Unlimited ring in white gold, all Cartier (@cartier).