Aryan Khan foreshadowed his next D’YAVOL X drop in ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’

When D’YAVOL first broke out in late 2022 with single-estate vodka, it was pegged as Aryan Khan’s long-awaited spirits brand. Just as people wrapped their heads around the pronunciation (dee-yah-vol) and deciphered the meaning (Slavic for ‘devil’), D’YAVOL X came out in 2023 as the streetwear arm, dropping limited-edition X-marked hoodies and duck-print tees that sold out instantly—to no one’s surprise. And today, the edgy brand steps into yet another vertical: luxury eyewear. “When we conceived of the brand, it was never meant to be limited just to spirits or clothes,” Aryan says on a video call with me and his co-founder, Leti Blagoeva. “But you might know my dad probably has the largest collection of sunglasses, at least in Bombay. He’s a huge fan and has been for years. This is something he has wanted to do for a long time.”

I can’t help but break into a smile at the reference. The world may know Shah Rukh Khan as Bollywood’s Badshah, the guy who spreads his arms and turns the hearts of millions, but to Aryan it’s just a casual “my dad”. A moment to process the flex that this is. Moving on, there’s good news for invested fans: turns out, SRK was deeply involved in the conceptualisation and making of the six-style eyewear capsule. For instance, a pair of aviators called ‘Now/Then’ takes inspiration from the classic style he wore in DDLJ. The familiar frames are reimagined with sculpted temples in two shades of olive and gold to add a hint of modern flair.

But Blagoeva adds, “More than any of Shah Rukh’s eyewear becoming inspiration, he was very involved with the materials. He wears sunglasses for extended periods of time, so [he insisted] it had to be pure titanium, which is extremely light and durable. That’s what took us to Japan, where the finest titanium eyewear is made.”

Priced between ₹28,000 and ₹41,000, the collection hinges on quality and architectural design. The ‘Layered I’ and ‘II’ in silver grey and a chestnut brown refer to 1950s modernist objects with sharp lines and understated frames. Meanwhile, the ‘Shift’ is bolder, in hues of navy charcoal and silver quartz, and blends a titanium rim with Japanese acetate.

“These are not flash-in-the-pan, trendy styles…It’s not for people who buy something for the sake of a brand but [for people who value] materiality and craft, who are willing to experiment with niche products,” Blagoeva explains. Aryan, on the other hand, lists the fictional characters he would love to see wearing the eyewear: “Batman, if he took his mask off. I’d also say Neo from The Matrix and my father from King [set to release in 2026]. You might even see our glasses in the film,” he hints.

In fact, the 28-year-old entrepreneur-filmmaker really enjoys the intersectionality of fictional and tangible worlds blending. In the first episode of his directorial debut, The Ba***ds of Bollywood, a satirical comedy that released on Netflix mere months ago, Aryan snuck in a cheeky D’YAVOL billboard. Featuring a pair of the unreleased eyewear with the text “the city’s gone, the style isn’t”, the make-belief poster stirred intrigue long before a launch was teased.

“The world of Revolver [the film in the show] is a post-apocalyptic society, maybe 100 years into the future, and there’s been a nuke attack, so everything is destroyed. It’s like saying everything can be erased but not us. The tone of the show is so over the top that you could break the fourth wall a little and make it relatable,” he laughs. “It was also foreshadowing for the keener viewers; actually, Bunty [Singh, co-founder] told me there was a spike in Google searches for D’YAVOL sunglasses after that.” Carrying on the tradition of Easter eggs, the sunglasses campaign stars Vivaan Bedi, assistant director on the show and son of Rajat Bedi, who plays the role of fading actor Jaraj Saxena.

Switching gears between his two high-octane professions, it is undeniable that 2025 has been a landmark year for Aryan. His reference-filled meta commentary on Bollywood debuted at number four on Netflix worldwide, garnering over 2.8 million views in four days. The director is set to make his film debut in 2026, while rumours swirl that his secret third project will be with Shah Rukh Khan.

And today, with yet another milestone launch ahead of him, I ask Aryan if he’s superstitious. Does he have a blessed pen that he signs with or a lucky colour he wears on big days? After all, he’s a Bollywood baby, and some of the industry’s biggest films have numerology scripting the BTS. From K3G and the changing spelling of Kabhi(e) to actors adding and dropping letters in hopes of padding their fortune, we all need a little kiss from the universe. But Aryan is too pragmatic for the stars. “I’m highly against any form of superstition, especially giving or taking away credit from the work that people have put in. I can’t blame a black cat for crossing my path and say, oh I failed because of it, so my 40 hours of work is suddenly going to get ruined,” he shares. “If I've done well, I’m not going to say it’s because I did this three times a day for the past three years. I’ve achieved it because I worked hard.”

And it is hard work all right. The multi-hyphenate walks me through a typical day in his life. Whether it is being holed in a room working on a story for months, running through recurring 3 am shoots or surviving 20-hour sprints with post-production watching the same cut on loop, it is no sleep, only work on repeat. “And now, once you release [the show] and it’s a hit, you chill,” Aryan says, with a coy smile. But Blagoeva chimes in immediately, “I don’t think you’ve been very good at chilling… He has inherited it from Shah Rukh and is now developing it for himself, but Aryan is also a perfectionist.”

The co-founders agree that even with D’YAVOL X, neither is slowing down or stopping to celebrate. They hope people like the eyewear styles and would be thrilled if the collection sells out (we all know it will) but it’s immediately onto the next. “There’s just so much to do. Our brand is still very young. We want to get into brick and mortar; we don’t have our own store yet. There is a lot ahead of us. So, when a very large milestone is achieved, perhaps that’s when I’ll chill,” Aryan says. “Of course, there’s a moment of relief when a drop releases. It’s like, oh shit, we did this, we made it happen. But then it’s like, okay let’s start designing again tomorrow.”

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