Get to know... Malishka Mendonsa

RJ Malishka Mendonsa (@MyMalishka) loved learning languages in school. She’s listening to DJ Black Coffee’s music and remembering the time she worked with SRK

Get to know... Malishka Mendonsa

• Currently, I am

  Playing freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu in the series Freedom at Midnight.

• High point in life

  Playing my childhood role model on screen.

• Low point in life

  When my sister and I were little, there was a time when we thought we may not have a roof over our heads.

• On my playlist

  AR Rahman’s Rehna Tu, from Delhi 6 (2009). Drive, by Black Coffee and David Guetta (I discovered DJ Black Coffee aka Nkosinathi Innocent Maphumulo when I was in South Africa, and loved his songs). And, any song by Ustad Shujaat Husain Khan and Abida Parveen.

• One thing I would never buy

  Packaged drinking water. I carry my water bottle.

• Today, I’m craving

  Makki ki roti and sarson da saag with white butter.

• Last thing I ordered online

  Juicy strawberries and fresh cream.

• App I check before going to bed

  YouTube.

• Advice I’d give my 18-year-old self

  You can go to unbelievably wonderful places. Carry on and wear sunscreen.

• My favourite subject in school

  All the languages.

• I’d swipe right on

  A man who has paid for his therapy sessions, and who follows through with what he says.

• My secret skill is

  To convince you to see my point of view.

• A superpower I wish I had

  To know, without a doubt, what makes one tick.

• My favourite Sunday memory

  Climbing the guava tree in our garden with my sister, organising skits with my neighbour’s kids and performing them for a local audience. Also, cooking on a wood-fired stove with them.

• My plans for next Sunday

  A massage, a movie and chill time with family.

• My most star-struck moment

  Sitting next to Shah Rukh Khan at a press conference for Hum Hain Lajawab, the Hindi version of The Incredibles, in 2004. We both voiced animated characters.

• My favourite bad habit

  Not letting my friends leave my house for as long as possible.

• If I could travel back or forward in time, I’d…

  Go back to the time of India’s freedom struggle as a fly on the wall of every room where important decisions were made.

• The best thing about fame

  Receiving love, being recognised and approached by people anywhere in the world.

• The worst thing about fame

  One cannot relax in public places. There is no privacy.