Good Girl Gone Bad

Actor Bhumi Pednekar takes a break from her raw, reel-life characters to channel our December vibe—smokin’ hot.

- Sneha Mankani

Asplatter of holographic glitter, an exaggerated geometry of jet-black pigment, a wash of molten gold—“Will she or won’t she?”—the collective thought lingered as the crew fixed their eyes on the makeup mood board. “I love it, let’s do this!” squealed a beaming Bhumi Pednekar as she made her way through our little group to see what the fuss was about.

From an overweight bride in her Bollywood debut, Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015), to a sexagenarian sharpshooter in her latest, Saand Ki Aankh, Pednekar’s on-screen personas have tackled many feminist issues sans makeup. On that rainy day, though, she was simply—and finally—playing herself: the experimental, self-confessed beauty hoarder who can recite every shade from the lipstick lexicon, works out to trance, and has introduced makeup pros to products from her travel hauls. Here, she tells us more.

The real Bhumi… “…is someone who started using makeup at 13. I bought my first vanity box in my teens because I was obsessed with beauty. My aunts and cousins would doll me up all the time. I have pictures of me pouting with a fully made-up face—I was an Instagram kid before Instagram existed. And because my parents never said, “Here’s some money, go buy makeup,” I would save up and do it myself. Makeup has a lot of power, and I love it. It enhances what you already have and gives you the freedom to play around.”