![\"Malaysian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/368700.jpg\" "\\"Malaysian")
<\/p>\nKUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 \u2014 When Malaysian model Vibha Rajish auditioned for what she thought was an ordinary sportswear commercial, she had no idea she would soon be sharing the screen with Hollywood star Zendaya.<\/p>\n
In fact, the 23-year-old almost skipped the audition altogether because she had a wedding to attend in Belgium.<\/p>\n
Instead, her decision to give it a shot landed her a role in an action-packed campaign for Swiss sportswear brand On, featuring Zendaya in a cinematic showdown with a group of female martial artists.<\/p>\n
Titled Zendaya in Your New Favourite Action Movie, the two-minute campaign film opens against a striking backdrop of brutalist concrete architecture, with Zendaya being pursued through the city by a group of fighters.<\/p>\n
Vibha makes a fleeting appearance between the 1:08 and 1:11 marks, playing one of the martial artists targeting the actress.<\/p>\n
Released on YouTube on October 1, the campaign marked a significant milestone for Vibha, who told Malay Mail she felt emotional, grateful and proud to have been part of the production.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so surreal that this little girl from Bandar Utama was about to meet, let alone act alongside Zendaya in her prime,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
When \u2018Z\u2019 turned out to be Zendaya<\/p>\n
Vibha\u2019s brush with Hollywood began with an unusually vague casting call for a \u201csportswear ad\u201d.<\/p>\n
The only instruction was to turn up wearing sportswear.<\/p>\n
With a wedding in Belgium already on her calendar, she initially considered giving the audition a miss.<\/p>\n
She eventually went along, and just two days before filming, learnt that she had landed the job and needed to return for the shoot.<\/p>\n
At the time, she saw it as an opportunity to earn some extra money for her summer holidays.<\/p>\n
What she didn\u2019t know was that she was about to work alongside Zendaya \u2014 or that the actress\u2019s celebrated stylist, Law Roach, would also be involved in the production.<\/p>\n
\u201cInitially there was no mention of Z (as we called her on set).<\/p>\n
\u201cI arrived on set for the rehearsals and passed two unusually large trailers.<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t think much of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil I met the other girls who had been training since the week before, and they asked how I was feeling.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Feel about what?\u2019 I remember saying, and everyone started laughing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen they broke the news to me: the Z on the trailer I passed was for Zendaya, and the L trailer was for Law Roach (who I\u2019m also obsessed with),\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
For a young Malaysian model who had arrived expecting a straightforward commercial shoot, it was quite the revelation.<\/p>\n
And despite the hectic filming schedule, Vibha found Zendaya to be warm and considerate towards everyone on set.<\/p>\n
The actress even offered her pizza \u2014 although nerves got the better of her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a very hectic few days but yes! She was lovely to everyone, she even offered me pizza.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I didn\u2019t take it cos I was too nervous and freaked out lol,\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n
From Bandar Utama to Prague<\/p>\n
Born in Kuala Lumpur and raised in Petaling Jaya, Vibha describes her childhood as quintessentially Malaysian, with her schools all located within a 2km radius of her family home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I had a pretty standard Malaysian upbringing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to the tadika (kindergarten) in my taman, SJKC then SMK, all within a 2km radius of my house,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Malaysian model Vibha Rajish (right) appears in On\u2019s action-packed campaign video, \u2018Zendaya in Your New Favourite Action Movie\u2019. \u2014 Picture via YouTube\/On and Law Roach<\/p>\n
Her journey into modelling began at 16, when she was looking for a way to help pay for treatment for her beloved cat, MJ, who had been diagnosed with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV).<\/p>\n
With the Covid-19 pandemic making retail jobs difficult to come by, she enlisted the help of a neighbourhood friend who was an aspiring photographer.<\/p>\n
The arrangement was simple: he would gain photography experience, while she would have photographs to help her pursue modelling opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where it all began!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her next chapter took her to Prague, a city that had captured her imagination after she first encountered it in a fantasy book.<\/p>\n
The Czech capital\u2019s relatively affordable cost of living compared with other European cities also appealed to her as a place to study.<\/p>\n
During her first year there, she was approached by a modelling scout and subsequently signed with an agency.<\/p>\n
For a time, she balanced her studies with modelling assignments and part-time jobs to cover her living expenses.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut since the last two years, modelling and acting have become my bread and butter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love it here so much, but I also love spending the winter back home in Malaysia!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
A homecoming in the making<\/p>\n
Although the On campaign has given Vibha another memorable addition to her portfolio, her ambitions extend beyond modelling.<\/p>\n
Having spent five years abroad, she is keen to explore more acting opportunities closer to home, particularly in Bahasa Malaysia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love to do some acting in Malaysia and in Bahasa specifically.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy Malay has deteriorated a little since living abroad for five years, but I love a challenge and it would be so special to me to do something local.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be back in January so I\u2019m just excited to be back home, eat good food and see what Malaysia has in store for me,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 \u2014 When Malaysian model Vibha Rajish auditioned for what she thought was an ordinary…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":632422,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,156,1777,111,139,69,94826,13841,310105,310104,19418],"class_list":["post-632421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-kuala-lumpur","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-petaling-jaya","tag-prague","tag-swiss-sportswear","tag-vibha-rajish","tag-zendaya"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/632422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}