Bollywood was such a huge part of our household. As a teen, there may have been a gap in my knowledge of American culture—pop songs or iconic movies that I didn’t know about—but never with Hindi cinema. Bollywood is stitched into the fabric of my being,” Lilly Singh tells me over Zoom. I’m talking to the famous Indo-Canadian comedian from my bed as though we were old friends catching up after a brief gap. Singh, who has connected from her home studio in Los Angeles, also appears completely at ease. She is dressed in a simple T-shirt and blazer, her long hair tied in a loose half-bun, eyes uncharacteristically stripped of kohl. Even her trademark exuberance appears to have been dialled down—she solemnly considers each question I throw at her instead of lacing her responses with her usual blend of spontaneous quirkiness. “The first movie I ever watched was Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994),” she says with a smile, when I ask her how she knows so much about the Hindi film industry despite being born miles away from Indian soil. “I saw Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) thrice on the big screen and growing up, my walls were plastered with posters of Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Madhuri Dixit. I also had a huge pile of Stardust magazines to keep abreast of Hindi cinema.”
This story is from the April 2022 edition of VOGUE India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2022 edition of VOGUE India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Breathe In, Breathe Out
A powerful tool to help you master your nervous system or another biohacking buzzword? SIMONE DHONDY explores the inhalations and exhalations of breathwork
Red Pill, Blue Pill
India's nutraceutical industry is booming thanks to advanced technology, distrust of the medical system and rising vanity. With multivitamins becoming purer and more effective, NIDHI GUPTA finds out if supplements have become the new serum
Sign of the times
No longer do you need to have an answer to, \"What is the significance of this?\" when people point to your new tattoo. ARMAN KHAN discovers that everything is on the table when you get inked temporarily
Return to form
Watching the world's most elite athletes deliver the best performances of their careers rekindled SONAKSHI SHARMA's own love for sports
Dimple, All Day
YOU MAY HAVE WATCHED HER ON THE BIG SCREEN FOR OVER FIVE DECADES, BUT DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF ASSUMING THAT YOU KNOW DIMPLE KAPADIA.
MUSIC, TAKE CONTROL
As someone who had always sought safety in numbers, ALIZA FATMA often wondered what her own company would feel like. The answer arrived unexpectedly when she attended her first-ever music festival, one of the largest in the world, all alone
Let it grow
When we think of hardworking farmers toiling in India's scorching heat, we often think of men, the sweat on their brow, the sinews in their arms. JYOTI KUMARI speaks to four women who are championing the invisible female labour that keeps these fields running
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE
When armless archer Sheetal Devi set her sights on the Paralympic Games this year, she knew she had a tough journey ahead of her. Luckily, her mother was with her every step of the way.
Beauty and the feast
The appeal of Indian weddings has always been in a sprawling spread. For additional bragging rights, Aditi Dugar recommends going beyond designer tablecloths and monogrammed napkins.
Sweet serendipity
From a scavenger hunt-inspired proposal to a Moroccan-themed baraat, Malvika Raj and Armaan Rai's love story prioritised playfulness throughout their blended celebrations.