An eyes on her

Sara Ali Khan's personal brand of bliss is nearly envious. It's a state of mind, but it is also a genuine work in progress, something she toils at every day by focusing on the good acting, exercising and simply being

- Nupur Sarvaiya

An unforgettable mise-en-scène is set inside a discreet vintage house in London. From a makeshift dressing room, Sara Ali Khan emerges in an all-eyes-on-me red lehenga, lavishly doused in a mélange of intricate crafts. She seamlessly steps in front of the camera and locks her gaze at the lens. And yet something is missing. Perhaps a tiara? But like loyal subjects in an imperial court, the Khush team murmurs unanimously: all hail Queen Sara.

There is, in fact, nothing high-handed about the 26-year-old's demeanour. Her grace, however, can be credited to the discipline and elegance that classically trained dancers cultivate. Her near-perfect manners remind you that Sara comes from a line of monarchs. Her father and actor Saif Ali Khan is the current Nawab of Pataudi. Her mother, Amrita Singh is practically Bollywood royalty, with over 55 films to her credit.

Within a few minutes, Sara will make you feel like you are part of her club. Time flies around her in a nonlinear fashion. From the outset, she promises me she wants our chat to be a "super candid", and she lives up to that deposition. She speaks articulately, in a unique mix of academic prowess (she holds a degree in history and political science from Columbia University in New York) and Gen Z slang. Yet for someone who should be on cloud 9 with her remarkable string of performances and admirers (40.9 million on Instagram at the time of going to press) in less than four years in the film industry, she's remarkably down-to-earth. She is, perhaps, too jaded to enjoy the frisson of fame, and too familiar with it from family life.

The Drama Queen