ELLE Digital Cover Star: Sanya Malhotra, The Quiet Disruptor

It’s 11 am on a breezy weekday in Mumbai, and Sanya Malhotra walks onto set like a quiet exhale. She is calm, grounded, and unbothered by the hum of cameras, crew chatter, or the stylist sprinting to adjust a cuff. She’s in a soft co-ord set, with bouncy curls, skin glowing with that barely-there sheen that comes only from inner stillness, or a solid eight hours of sleep.

“I'm sleeping early now. Like 10, 10.30,” she says later with a grin. "Changed my life." Ten years into the industry, Malhotra continues to surprise us, not with grand declarations or a manicured spotlight, but with the quiet confidence of someone who knows exactly who she is. And more importantly, who she isn’t.

"When I started out with ‘Dangal’, I was so harsh on myself," she says. "I loved being in front of the camera, but everything else scared me, like the interviews, events, and award shows. I felt like an impostor."

It’s a version of herself she’s now outgrown. "Now I’m more confident. I don’t think I’ve held on to much from that time, except maybe the work ethic. I love that girl still, though. She was trying to figure it out alone."

Today, Malhotra is anything but alone. On set, she moves with the lightness of someone whose creative energy is protected by her team, her boundaries, and her growing sense of self. When asked what makes her happiest at work, she doesn’t hesitate. "If I have my people around me, I feel like I’m home. Even in the worst mood, I look at them and think, okay, I’m good."

That sense of home might just explain how she’s able to shapeshift so seamlessly, from the fragile yet fierce Sandhya in ‘Pagglait’ to the restrained intensity of ‘Mrs.’, to the glossy, dance-forward Bollywood heroine in her upcoming film ‘Sunny Sanskari’.

"I've never looked like that on screen before, so stylish!" she laughs. "I’ve always done content-heavy roles where I’m completely in character. But in ‘Sunny Sanskari’, I actually look like myself, I’m dancing, and I’ve worked with choreographers I’ve always wanted to. It’s full-on Dharma-style and I loved every bit of it."

She’s also set to star in a global action-comedy, ‘Toaster’, alongside Rajkummar Rao. "It’s wild. We’ve worked together before, but this one’s totally different. I was dubbing for it a few days ago, and I couldn’t stop laughing. Can’t wait for people to see it."

As for ‘Mrs.’, which sparked a whole new wave of attention (and sent earlier hits like ‘Kathal’ and ‘Meenakshi Sundareshwar’ trending again), it’s a project that stayed with her in unexpected ways. "I met so many incredible women while preparing for it. Their stories moved me. I felt like I had a responsibility to tell it right, because so many women would see themselves in this character."

And yet, she doesn’t cling. "Once a film is out, it’s not mine anymore. I’ve learned to let go. It belongs to the audience."

That philosophy extends beyond her work. Malhotra recently launched Bree Matcha, a wellness venture born from her own morning ritual. "I was a coffee girl, but it made me jittery. Matcha changed everything; it gave me that calm, energising feeling. Zen-ergy, as we call it at Bree," she says, eyes lighting up. What began as a personal discovery quickly evolved into a full-blown business.

"One day I just thought, why am I not sourcing my own?" she recalls. "So I called my manager, we got the right people on board, and now I’m involved in everything, packaging, campaign scripts, even the costume design. It’s like playing a whole new character. I love it."

She’s not rushing to brand herself in any one mould. "People keep telling me I should do more commercial stuff, and I’m like, I want to do everything! Comedy, drama, action, content, masala. I don’t want to limit myself. If I’m too comfortable, I’m not learning."

That restless creativity has won her fans in some of the most revered directors in Indian cinema, Mani Ratnam, Anurag Kashyap, Atlee, and Vishal Bhardwaj. "They saw something in me that I didn’t. I remember thinking I’d need to do a few ensemble roles before I could shoulder a film. But Umesh Bist and Guneet Monga (Director and Producer, Pagglait) believed in me. And that made me believe in myself."

There’s an elegance in how she holds both self-doubt and self-trust in the same breath. Maybe that’s what makes Malhotra so watchable, her refusal to flatten herself into a fixed persona. "Even now, I feel like I’m still doing a lot of work just to be seen. ‘Mrs.’ really helped, but I still have moments where I feel invisible. But I love what I do. And I love who I’m becoming."

A decade in, she’s still discovering new sides of herself, new stories to tell, new rituals to fall in love with. Like that perfectly whisked cup of matcha at sunrise, Malhotra is a quiet, focused force, one that doesn’t scream for attention, but holds it completely.

ELLE India Editor: Ainee Nizami Ahmedi; Photographer: Vansh Virmani; Fashion Director: Zoha Castelino; Asst. Art Director: Alekha Chugani; HMUA: Natasha Mathias; Bookings Editor: Rishith Shetty; Words by: Vishakha Punjabi; Brand coordinator: Rhea Sanil; Assisted by: Idris Nidham, Ridhima Shetty (styling), Sneh Lad (bookings); Artist Reputation Management: Raindrop Media