Your ideal vacation...
It would have to be Bali and Kashmir. And I don’t like those tourist-bus vacations; I like to go on my terms and just get away and get lost. If no one wants to go with me, I will go alone and I have done that. People have seen me travel alone and they thought I was mad.
Chill-out mantra...
My best friend’s sofa! It’s so nice to go to her place and just chill where she is doing her thing and I’m just reading a book or something.
An act you’re listening to on loop...
It’s a band called Air.
Your comfort food...
Mysore Cheese Masala Dosa. And Maggi. The list goes on. Don’t ask me about food, I’m getting hungry!
The secret to your face and figure...
Them (points at Salim Sayed, her make-up person, and Aliya Shaikh, her hairstylist)! They do it all. And also my genes, so my parents too! But I am short, which is why I wear heels, which again took a lot of practice.
A hairstyle you want to try...
I like my hair long. I can style it in different ways. I don’t like a lot of haircuts.
In your make-up kit...
I have a standard thing that I put on my face, which is the Bobbi Brown BB Cream, which really works well.
The kid inside you...
You’ll never be able to guess my real age and that is actually the child in me. I live my life, I have fun, I do mad things with my friends. I am super crazy and yes I am mad! And that is never going to change.
You are inspired by...
It could be anybody. The last person I smiled at and took something from was my domestic help. She doesn’t know English, her husband hits her, and her child runs away from home practically every day. But she comes to my house smiling. Her attitude is like, ‘Kya kare, this is life.’
You play by the rules or take risks...
I am both. I genuinely play by the rules most of the time but I do take some risks as well.
Someone you are dying to meet...
Imtiaz Ali.
A film you want to see yourself in...
Rockstar and Ranbir Kapoor’s role in it. I love Imtiaz Ali’s films and I’ve really loved Highway. I wish I could do Alia Bhatt’s role if the movie is ever made again.
When you are in a foul mood but have a shoot...
All my crew and friends call me Meena Kumari (laughs)! People scream “Meena aa gayi, Meena aa gayi” when I’m in a bad mood. I listen to music and try to get back. I actually cry a lot because it helps me take it all out.
You cannot leave home without...
A perfume. I can leave my phone behind but not that.
A book you’re reading...
I’ve actually left three books midway and I hate that. So I left one Franz Kafka, which was The Castle, then The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. But I finished The Kite Runner and I got depressed. Someone recently gifted me Memoirs Of A Geisha, which I am in the middle of as well!
— Urvashi Bhattacharya
