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You have seen her grooving to the beat of Right Here Right Now in the film Bluffmaster with the new superstar Abhishek Bachchan. But Anchal Kumar is also a star of the modelling world and has done campaigns for brands like L’Or?al. Her modelling career was kickstarted when she won the Gladrags Megamodel contest. Anchal’s family is from Chandigarh and she studied at St Stephen’s School there and then moved to do her graduation at Mithibai College in Mumbai ? which is when she was spotted. Once the modelling world grabbed her, she had to complete her graduation by correspondence from Bombay University. Family for her means everything, says the pretty 24-year-old, who grew up with four sisters. Her bond with each of them is special, yet the one she’s closest to is Pooja, who lives nearby in Mumbai.
Pooja Kumar is a cabin supervisor with a domestic airline. After doing her schooling from Chandigarh’s Sacred Heart Convent, she started a graduation course in psychology. But then she started flying and completed her course through distance education. Pooja moved to Mumbai along with her sisters Anchal and Payal. After marrying a Merchant Navy officer, she shifted near Anchal in Andheri. When Pooja is not flying and travelling, she likes to freak out with sisters, Anchal and Payal, and their friends.
Anchal:
Pooja is the second of four sisters. There’s a four-year difference between us, but it’s never really mattered. There have been phases in my life when I’ve never had to leave home to make friends because we sisters are all so close. I can talk about anything and everything with Pooja.
I used to be a very naughty child. My homework was inevitably neglected. At the last moment I would realise that it was not done, so I would look to Pooja for help. She has bailed me out of such predicaments many a time. Being the youngest one, I was very pampered. Yet I was ready to break the rules. Often, I was at the receiving end of spankings from my parents. Pooja often made sure that she took half the blame and saved my skin. Then there were parties and outings which I didn’t want to miss. But my parents wouldn’t allow me if exams were drawing near. It was Pooja then who’d do the talking and convince them otherwise.
When I was in Class IV, I was very unwell. My parents were busy with work, and I had Pooja taking care of me. I used to be impatient and throw a lot of tantrums. My sister, I must say, was very patient despite the fact that she was also quite young at the time. There were small fights occasionally. Obviously, these were triggered by me. Whenever my parents brought things for us, I’d quickly take my pick and then eye the others’ gifts. It’s often been the case that Pooja has given me her share. It happens even now.
Pooja got married two years ago and it was an emotional time for me. Here was somebody who’d pampered me all my life, and who was now going to have someone else to take care of. Would our relationship get affected? Luckily though, Pooja lives just 15 minutes away from me. So whenever I wrap up a shoot or am feeling low, I land up at her place and am made to feel like a queen. We still hang out together, go for movies, parties and dinners. Now of course, we’ve cut down on the parties, as Pooja is four months pregnant. The feeling of protection that I feel toward her now is overwhelming, and I constantly advise her on what to eat and what to wear.
Pooja:
Anchal was the good- looking one in the family, besides our eldest sister, Dimple. When I look back on our childhood, I remember her as a good looking child even then and very popular too. At school, Anchal was always involved in extra-curricular activities and yet she balanced things well by putting in her best when it came to academics.
Her nickname is Anna and she was always the go-getter in the family. While she was still in school, I remember how she got into a competition at ABCL. It was a big thing at that time. When we were young, our time together was spent swimming and going for golf. We would also travel to places like Kasauli and Shimla for a quick trip.
Even when I got my married, the message that I passed on to my husband was very clear ? my sisters are very special and Anchal is the pet of the family. So we meet up at least five times in a week. We travel a lot together and do lots of shopping too. Anna’s tastes though, are expensive. Whenever she travels on shows, she returns laden with gifts. The ones, which I remember are a Louis Vuitton bag and an expensive piece of jewellery.
However, we aren’t allowed to delve into her wardrobe. Anna is really slim around the waist, and so we can’t get into her clothes in any case. That is one thing that hasn’t changed since childhood. We used to end up bickering because even as a child, Anna would get stuff from abroad and refuse to let us touch it. We had our own way though, and would sneak out whatever we wanted.
Anna tends to be short-tempered, but then she’s immediately apologetic when she says things in the heat of the moment. I love that about her. We are usually around each other for our special occasions like birthdays. On her 24th birthday, however, all three of us ? Dimple, Payal and myself ? were abroad and away from her. It was very emotional just wishing her over the phone.
Now that I am expecting, we don’t go to parties often, but we go for brunches. Anna often drives me around and we hang out a lot. Being with her is essentially a lot of fun.
