Actor & Philanthropist Evelyn Sharma Opens The Year For Us

You marked your film debut with the 2006, American film ​Turn left and​ made your Bollywood debut in the 2012 Bollywood film From Sydney with Love and soon shot to success with Ayan Mukerji’s Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, opposite Ranbir Kapoor. What lead you to become an actress?

I am half German, half Indian and I came to India to find my roots. I was already modelling and working in different countries when I came to India. In India I first started out as a model, but then I started getting a lot of offers from Bollywood and I took them up and now destiny has brought me here where I am today and there is no looking back. “Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani” will always be special and close to my heart as it gave me instant fame and people still remember me as “Lara” more than any other character I have played till date.

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Healthy eating is a habit. With your kind of lifestyle, which involves lot of travelling, how do you manage to eat healthy? Also, share your 5 favourite Indian dishes.

Healthy eating is a lifestyle and I try and follow it, despite my hectic work schedule and lots of travelling. Healthy eating doesn’t mean that you have to give up on everything that you like. You can still eat that chocolate or your favourite Gulab Jamun, but all you have to do is, eat it in the right proportion. Too much of anything is bad. I also feel that we should not eat with guilt and stress. If we want to have our favourite sweet, either eat happily or don’t eat it, but don’t consume it with all the guilt and stress, I feel stress leads to weight gain.

I stay healthy, by keeping my portion size small and eating at regular intervals. I eat my dinner early and avoid late night eating. I love Indian food and being a Punjabi I love butter chicken, naan, biryani, rice and dal, aloo jeera and the list is endless.

After a hectic day of shoot, how do you relax and rejuvenate?

I relax and rejuvenate by taking a nice hot bath, a good massage or a spa, many times after a long day, and have a hot soup. I feel having a good eight hours sleep is a sure shot way to rejuvenate and get ready for the next day. My current favourite is float at movement sanctuary by my friend Puja so if I am shooting in Mumbai I make sure to book an appointment there post my shoot. I would recommend everyone to try it out.

Recently, a famous Bollywood actress penned down that actresses aren’t perfect either and have a whole lot of people working on them to make them look the way that they do. Do you also believe it is about time that female celebrities must share their real selves with fans to inspire self-love and self-confidence. Also, Share a few mantras, from your own beauty regime, for healthy skin and hair?

Yes, no one is perfect and yes we are blessed to have an army of experts around us who makes us look the way we do in front of the camera. Yes, we must share our real selves and to be very honest I often share unedited, unfiltered selfies on my social media. I believe in natural, organic and sustainable living and I promote that too. For healthy skin I exfoliate my skin from time to time and I keep myself hydrated. Oiling your hair is a great way to keep it healthy. This tip was given to me by my mom and I follow it religiously and would recommend it to everyone else too. Also I have a blog named “Evelyn’s Secrets” where I reveal all my beauty, fitness and other secrets for my fans.

2018 nearing to an end what are you looking forward to in the new year 2019?

Early this year I launched my new venture WIP Creatives because I wanted to build a stronger team for myself and for my friends in the industry. We’re a small boutique agency and want to provide a kind of service that no one else offers: career coaching, image development, and content creation – all in one. I would like it to do well in the coming year and serve the purpose I have started it for. Also I am looking forward to the release of my South Indian debut film Saaho. It is the biggest film ever made in India and I feel lucky to be a part of this movie. I have played an out and out action role which I haven’t played ever before. Also looking forward to more good work and movies. And yes looking forward to good health, world peace and happiness all around in the coming year.

3 destinations that you would love to visit in 2019?

Germany of course, as I miss the food and my family, Hungary as its one of my favourite place and yes I want to explore Punjab.

The #MeToo movement has struck us all at a global level and now more and more women are coming out to voice their stories in our country too. What is your take on this?

I’ve been in this industry for a long time and have experienced a lot of disrespectful behavior towards women. I left the talent agency that managed me in the start of my film career because of that reason and since then hired and trained my own team. I personally wouldn’t like to accuse anyone, but would like to mentor new girls by sharing my story of overcoming struggles. Also I have launched my new venture WIP Creatives because I wanted to build a stronger team for myself and for my friends in the industry. WIP Creatives which is a small boutique agency and want to provide a kind of service that no one else offers: career coaching, image development, and content creation – all in one.

You run a fashion based charity foundation ‘Seams For Dreams’. How do you wish to help the less fortunate strata of our country?

“Seams For Dreams” is a charity foundation that focuses on providing appropriate clothing to the underprivileged sections of society, by collecting pre-loved and gently-worn clothes from people, with an effort to generate a trend in India that supports ecological fashion. We have also curated an upcycled clothing line, which are sold and whose proceeds are used further for this cause. We wish to help the less fortunate by raising funds and creating awareness for this cause through various fashion events garage sales, programs, campaigns and partnerships etc. SFD wants to encourage people to donate clothes to the ones in need. We hosted our 5th Annual Garage Sale on the 15th December which was a huge success! Many people came there to shop and donate to this noble cause. Last year we collaborated with various NGOs like Habitat India, Green Soles and The Hope Collab to promote sustainable fashion.

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Tell us about Shop XOE, which is a platform that features products representing your own ethos to spread a universal message of a healthy, holistic, and happy lifestyle. What is your mission behind this venture?

I keep getting asked which are some products that I would recommend for beauty and fitness, so I decided why not showcase my favourites to all my fans through “Shop XOE”. Here you can shop all the products tried and tested by me, which I would like to recommend to my fans.

You are also set to make your Tollywood Debut with the highly anticipated film, Saaho. How is your preparation for this one going?

I am really excited and looking forward to it. Yes my fans will get to see me in an all new action packed role for the very first time and it’s the biggest film ever made in India with Baahubali (Prabhas) in the lead role so anticipation around the movie is quite obvious.

With a massive following of about 2 million followers on your Instagram account @evelyn_sharma, what according to you are the best and worst things about these social media platform?

I think the Internet trolling is the worst thing about social media platforms and best thing is that you get to interact with your fans directly one on one so the gap between an actor and a fan has been reduced and its great as they can get to know me up close and personal.

Lastly, one fitness/health tip for our viewers at Women Fitness?

I feel the biggest fitness tip, that I practice myself is ​Pilates​, it is life changing and has definitely had a positive effect on my mind and my body. I would recommend everyone to try it, to welcome positivity into their lives.