We catch Anushka Sharma right after she’s wrapped shooting for Nivea’s forthcoming commercial. It’s been a long day, but it doesn’t reflect in her sunny manner in the least.
ELLE: How do you manage to look fresh despite crazy shoot hours?
Anushka Sharma: You know, I had learned early on, that using sunscreen is very important, and I’d been very particular about that. I also have this thing with moisturisers. I feel like my clothes probably smell of moisturisers and not perfumes, ’cause it feels nice. What else? Water? Drink it.
ELLE: What’s your one major beauty confession?
AS: I keep buying mascaras. And then they dry up because I barely use them. I don’t know why I’m obsessed with buying mascaras. It’s really stupid. When I really want to use it, I can’t because it’s dry!
ELLE: One beauty trick you wish you’d learned when you were younger?
AS: I wish I’d not shaped my eyebrows. I don’t thread them anymore, but I wish I’d never done it.
ELLE: It’s funny you mentioned it, I was just going through some of your older pictures and there’s a definite change.
AS: Yeah, I had good eyebrows. But you go to any [parlour], and they just make it so thin. And at the time I thought that was cool! But I think it’s been a few years now, since I did them, roughly before Bombay Velvet.
ELLE: What’s the one beauty trend that you just don’t get?
AS: So many! I don’t like frosted lipsticks. It’s really ugly.
ELLE: What was your last extravagant spa routine?
AS: It was in 2013. I’ve been to a spa after that, of course, but it’s usually rushed. (“Jaldi karo, jaldi karo, ek ghanta ho gaya.” They’re like “Aap aatey kyun ho, madam?”) I went to Ananda in the Himalayas, with my trainer, and I was eating good food. So that’s all I did – it was blissful. It was between schedules of Bombay Velvet and PK.
ELLE: What was the last thing you Googled?
AS: I just Googled Nivea, so I could ask them to send me a product!
ELLE: Which three songs or artists would we find on your iPod now?
AS: I’m listening to this Coke Studio Pakistan song ‘Aik Alif’ a lot.
…and Birdy’s acoustic version of ‘Wings’
…and Badshah’s ‘Wakhra Swag’. Have you heard it? No? What’s up with you, man!
I have no idea what he’s saying. But it sounds nice.
ELLE: You’ve said that you hated your modelling days. What was the worst thing that happened to you?
AS: There was this really nasty model…I’m not going to name her. You know how your shoes – these were given by the designer – are generally tucked under this rack of clothes backstage? I don’t know what her problem was, maybe she lost her shoes or something. She just came and took my shoes. I told her those are my shoes, meekly. She turns around and says, ‘No they’re not, someone tell this kiddo who I am.’ I was just like, why are they so pissed off?
ELLE: What’s the one odd thing no one knows about you?
AS: I eat two dinners. Yesterday I woke up at 5.30 am because I was hungry. I eat my dinner, and they ask me ‘Do you want to keep something aside for later?’ I blitz it in the microwave and eat again.
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