Shweta Nanda looked ravishing in a purple Dior gown on the November issue of Vogue India. We’ve scored an excerpt from her interview.
38 year old Shweta Nanda confesses to have never been inclined to be a part of Bollywood. Apart from a short -lived incident involving being the host of a TV show, which she terms “disastrous”, Shweta bluntly says, “I’m scared of cameras and I’m not good with crowds,” She adds, “I don’t think I have the talent or the face to be a heroine. I’m happy where I am.”
Nanda has always been a mystery, a woman standing among her kin at events but rarely choosing to speak. “She is quietly effective,” says her mother Jaya (whom Nanda calls her biggest critic). “She shies away from the limelight.”
With only two years between them, she and younger brother Abhishek have always been very close. While they attended Boston University, they shared an apartment, dividing chores and working on school assignments. “I would cook, and he would clean; he was in charge of the accounts, while I did the decor,” she recalls.
This particular period of their partnership came to end when Nanda was 23 years old. “When I got married, he moved back home. He couldn’t cope. He was so shy that he wouldn’t even order a pizza on his own!” she says with big sister affection.
Aishwarya, she says, has easily taken on the role of daughter in the house and the grandparents are completely in love with the newest little addition.
Shweta is the proud mother of two children, Navya – 15 years old and 12-year-old Agastya. Talking about Navya, Shweta says “She’s a total girl, I love having her at this age. I’m living vicariously through her, buying her pink sequined shorts and high top sneakers that I really can’t wear now. She’s already taking some of my neon bags and accessories, picking the pieces she wants to keep.”
Fashion wise, Nanda is an interesting hybrid of the older Bachchans. She’s glamorous, yes, but considers herself far less flamboyant than her father, and she appreciates her mother’s pared-down choices.
Her look has evolved drastically over the years, moving from American casual to an effortless sophistication. At her father’s birthday extravaganza, you couldn’t miss Nanda-statuesque in shimmering gold-greeting guests warmly, dancing up a storm and out-shining many of the stars.
“I work on my look a lot more now,” Nanda admits, but there’s a paradox in this that makes a strong case for her inherent elegance. “I’m more groomed, but I’m still lazy. I don’t like to put things together—I’m not big on accessories, and I prefer solid hues.”
“Times are tough, and no one wants to invest in single-use clothing,” she says sensibly. “Provocative is for Lady Gaga and Nicky Minaj. Elegance lasts so much longer.”