“I now sleep on the floor, and my spine is loving it!” says Zara Khan

The actor-singer talks about turning vegan and giving up sugar, watching Fear Street, reading in bed and having a crush on Tiger Shroff

Zara Khan’s husky voice has helped make the racy music video Harfunn Maula, featuring Aamir Khan, a chartbuster. The youngster is not only full of beans — “I have a seven-day gym routine; I Iove food, so I have no choice” — but she also has a head full of ideas. She manifests success by making positive assertions of what she desires before plopping on her bed at night.

Most singer-actors, including Zara’s mom Salma Agha of Nikaah fame, prefer singing for themselves on screen. But Zara, who made her debut as an actor-singer in Yash Raj’s Aurangzeb, says, “I would love to see the final outcome when another singer gives playback for me.”

Equally passionate about singing and acting, she has retained her sense of wonder and exclaims, “Acting is magical! Suddenly, someone with a different body language and vocabulary from you appears on screen through you!”

List three things nobody knows about you.

1. I have recently turned vegan and given up sugar, and I’m very happy, though I was a meat and sugar addict earlier.

2. I am a fantastic cook — the flavours that I bring into my dishes are next level.

3. I’ve started sleeping on the floor since March, and my spine is loving it; there is no backache.

What do you enjoy on the telly?

I have a big TV in my bedroom. I’m obsessed with this show on Netflix, The Good Doctor and I’ve just finished the fantastic thriller-horror trilogy called Fear Street.

What are we likely to catch you reading in bed?

The Power of your Subconscious Mind. I believe you can manifest what you want.

Do you sleep with a night light?

I can’t sleep if there is even a little light in the room. I need absolute darkness. I flip my phonescreen so that its light won’t wake me up.

Which actor, according to you, has bedroom eyes?

I have a crush on Tiger Shroff. He has bedroom eyes, bedroom hair, bedroom everything.

How do you sleep: curled up or sprawled out?

I start with facing the ceiling, then I move sideways and then I curl up. Post that, I flip and sleep on my stomach. And this cycle goes on.

Your sleeping hours?

I go to sleep by 11pm and wake up around 9am. But when I am glued to a web series, I stay awake till 3am andwake up around 11am.

Describe yourself in a hashtag.

#SoulOverMind.

Bedside stories

What’s on your bedside table?

I’ve got a jute basket which has my AC remote and my bottle of water. But in my side-table drawers, I have a lot of homeopathic medicines because nowadays, like every one else, I take extra care of my health.

One thing which you don’t have on your bedside table but would like to?

A clock that can reverse time.

What do you wear to bed?

Spaghetti tops and really loose and soft pajamas which I’m swimming in.

This or that?

Figure-hugging gowns or oversized shirts?

Oversized shirts. I love my oversized t-shirts and big ripped boyfriend jeans.

Dogs or cats?

I’m a huge cat person. I think I’ll be an old lady with 17 cats. I already have two.

Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt?

Definitely Brad Pitt. He’s hotter.

Flowers or perfumes as gift?

Perfumes. They last longer.

From HT Brunch, August 29, 2021

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