In Bed With Shirley Setia: “My midnight munch? Soupy noodles!”

The actor-singer talks about loving chai and coffee equally, not being able to stay without checking her phone for too long and falling asleep to Lo-fi music

Veritable social media sensation, Shirley Setia moved from Auckland, New Zealand, to India in order to pursue a career in entertainment. The singer-actor’s covers of popular songs on YouTube have garnered hundreds of millions of views, and Shirley is now completing a Telugu film (“I consider it an achievement because the language was tough for me to learn.”) Shirley’s big dream now is to become a Bollywood film actress.

In her downtime, Shirley can be found playing with her two cats (one is a Persian and the other one is an Indie) or strumming a ukelele.

List three things nobody knows about you.

1. I like both chai and coffee.

2. I’m not a morning person.

3. I love lo-fi music—it’s a new genre of music, and many lo-fi versions of Bollywood songs are being remixed and becoming popular these days.

Which is your preferred side of the bed?

Whichever side is closer to the plug point (laughs).

How long can you stay without checking your phone?

Not very long... I have not even tried to do this in a long, long time.

What do you read in bed?

These days I am re-reading Harry Potter! I love that series, who doesn’t?

Do you listen to music to help you go to sleep?

Yes, definitely. Lo-fi music is amazing.

How many pillows do you stash below your head?

Just one is enough for me.

Do you have anything pinned to your bedroom wall?

I am thinking of adding some motivational quotes on the wall sometime soon. This quote really resonates with me: “It’s going to be hard, but hard does not mean impossible,” as does the quote from Om Shanti Om: “Kehte hai agar kisi cheez ko poore dil se chaaho, toh poori kaynat usse tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai.”

Your midnight munch?

Soupy noodles.

A recurring dream or nightmare?

I have a fear of drowning in water, and that is my biggest nightmare.

A motto you live by.

Team work makes the dream work. Everything we do is driven not only by ourselves, but also by the efforts of multiple people surrounding us who are all giving their best. There are many people behind the scenes striving to make our work look good.

Describe yourself in a hashtag.

#TinyOneWithNotSoTinyDreams. Long hashtags are allowed, na?

Bedside stories

What do you wear to bed?

A pair of comfy shorts and a tee.

Who is your 2am friend and what do you share?

Jasmin, as she’s probably the one who would be awake at that hour due to the time difference—she’s my best friend from back home in Auckland. We’re like sisters from another mother, so pretty much everything and anything could be shared (laughs).

Your idea of the perfect breakfast?

I love South Indian food, so an idli with sambar is perfect.

This or that?

Rom-coms or action films?

Rom-coms with action.

Bangkok or Sikkim?

I’ve never been to Sikkim, so Sikkim it is!

Rock climbing or deep-sea diving?

Oh God, neither! Both sound equally terrifying.

From HT Brunch, December 26, 2021

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