Pooja HEGDE on beauty, fitness, health and wellness.
Your view on beauty?
I believe in the adage, ‘less-is-more’ aesthetics. This allows my strong brows to dominate attention over well, that’s what most people say — my dainty features. I believe in simplicity — of a perfectly put together beauty look. From combed-back sleek hair and coral lips to well-defined eyes. My off-duty beauty code involves bright lippies, minimal kohl and well-defined brows.
Your ‘take’ on fitness?
I’m not a diehard fitness fiend. Yet, I stick to a regular regime of Pilates, calisthenics and kick-boxing with circuit and interval training, because fitness is nothing short of a definitive, inexorable necessity in filmdom, or elsewhere, today. A 45-minute workout every day is fundamental to my daily routine, preceded by a quick cup of coffee to pump up my metabolic rate. I drink a lot of water and use coconut oil for my skin. I also eat every two hours and get a weekly massage. I believe in eating well; there are no crash diets, or juice-cleanses for me. My maxim, “You need to take good care of your body till you’re 40. After that, your body will take care of you.”
Your view of health and wellness?
I firmly believe that health and wellness are as important as one’s diet, although I’m not excessively rigorous with my diet policy. I’m a foodie. I eat everything that I enjoy — however, I make doubly sure that whatever I’m eating is healthy and not calorie-laden.
Breakfast. My breakfast consists of toast, or something filling, yet light, along with cereals and almonds — and, of course, yogurt, the indispensable South Indian dietetic constituent.
Lunch. It all depends upon my schedule. When I’m working, I’ve my ‘fill’ with a variety of fruits, aside from nature’s most wholesome beverage — water. When I’m not shooting, my staple is home-made dal and rice.
Dinner. My supper is light and easy to digest. All I have is a bowl of soup and fish.
Your ‘take’ on work-life balance?
I’m a total workaholic, so taking a holiday makes me feel guilty. This is something I’m working on vis-à-vis my emotional health. I’ve realised that it is imperative to take breaks and give yourself a little bit of rest and recovery time, because it makes sure you don’t burn-out. I agree that this makes me feel odd and weird too, so much so I get anxious thinking that I’m missing out on work. I’m slowly, but surely, working on the frills and have managed to balance work and life well — spending quality ‘me-time’ with oneself and relaxing as and when I can.
Your mantra to beat stress?
Stress is a part of life and work too — some days are really stressful. So, to de-stress, I love sweating it out in the gym, and working out, while listening to my favourite music. I also believe a long, relaxing massage helps to relieve stress, just as much as a short break, or holiday.
POOJA HEGDE is one of the most alluring of Indian models and actresses. She made her initial foray into acting in the Tamil movie, Mugamoodi [2012]. This was followed by her Telugu films, Oka Laila Kosam and Mukunda [2014] and Maharshi [2019], opposite Super Star Mahesh Babu. She made her Bollywood debut in Ashutosh Gowariker’s Mohenjo Daro [2016], opposite Hrithik Roshan. How was her ‘dream-like’ first Hindi movie experience like? In her words, “Working with Hrithik was surreal.” Hegde lives in Mumbai, India [This piece has been collated and curated from material available on the ‘Net. Pooja Hegde: Photo, Courtesy: Wallpapers].
