Ace it like Anushka Sharma

It's a Sunday morning. Anushka Sharma is shooting for a TV commercial at Mumbai's Ballad Pier. The star of Ladies vs Ricky Bahl is sitting in the middle of a vanity van, flanked by an LCD screen and a dresser overflowing with make-up. Her hair is slickly pulled back, she's dressed in an oversized shirt, worn unbuttoned over a black singlet and faded jeans. She's cleaned off most of her make-up and is looking like a regular, but very attractive 23-year-old. Recently, her sculpted hot bod has received as much attention as her movie dates with co-star Ranveer Singh.

But her clothes are hiding the kick-ass arms and midriff that she earlier flaunted for our cover shoot. In a few minutes, she will reveal herself to be a strong-willed young woman, still a bit startled by her success, but dead serious about her job.

"Ask them not to disturb us until we're done," she instructs her team. I am beginning to sense the steel of Shruti Kakkar, the character from her gamechanger Band Baaja Baraat. No wonder her film career is racing full speed ahead.

In four years, Anushka's done five films that have vaulted her to the big league. Yash Raj Films (YRF) is practically home. Her upcoming projects include Vishal Bhardwaj's Matru ki Bijlee ka Mandola with Imran Khan and Yash Chopra's yet untitled film, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif.

Let's be honest, even the most fabulous girl needs a little luck in showbiz. So how did her break come? Anushka once hoped to be a top model, which is why she may not have appeared or even been desperate for a Bollywood career. Part of the journey towards fame involved just hanging in there through numerous auditions and ending up on everyone's drop list. "I was always No.2 of the shortlisted models and eventually, No.1 would get the part," she says.

Her big fat break
Ironically, her big fat Bollywood break was the one thing she didn't try too hard for. "After he signed me on, Aditya Chopra told me that I was like Tani, the character-chilled out and not over-eager," she shrugs.

Anushka had snagged the big job without a famous Bollywood surname or godfather. Growing up in Army cantonments, loving the outdoors-horse riding, swimming, adventure sports-and playing tennis, badminton and squash, Anushka acquired the spirit of a sporty girl out to win. "Sports gives you a sense of accomplishment. Everything that I do, I need to do well…I don't like disappointing myself," she says.

She's a workhorse. Says Maneesh Sharma, director of Band Baaja Baraat, "with Anushka on the set, I know I have an actor who's going to do her best no matter what and her dedication is very reassuring." Maneesh also happens to be a close friend of Anushka and her family-they hang together and play board games like Taboo. "Anushka is the most unfilmy film person I know. I think it's her upbringing. Her parents are very loving and liberal, and this is reflected in the way she carries herself," he says.

The fame game
But confidence is not an instant booster shot. It takes years to build, and despite the external trappings-a vanity van surrounded by security guards, numerous personal assistants, the Range Rover parked outside-like many 20-somethings, a part of Anushka is trying to find ground in a still-setting mould. Hear it in her own voice that's so real: "I am not a very confident person, you know," she confesses. "It may appear like that, but I'm not. I try to convert the anxiety and the angst into something positive... maybe that comes across as being confident."

Like many young girls, she too went through a slouchy, body-conscious phase. Anushka's a tall girl-she is 5' 9"-and when her body started changing, she hunched. She recalls how her mom insisted she correct her posture and walk properly. "You become conscious when your body changes; when boys start noticing you," she says.

Body confidence
Anushka started modelling at 16 and had been learning Bharatnatyam. This, combined with her sporty life, brought posture and poise that her mother must now be proud of. Her current on-screen body confidence is striking-whether it's the bikini-clad Anushka in Ladies vs Ricky Bahl trying to seduce a con man or a recent TV commercial where she's luscious and bare-bodied. "As an actor you cannot have inhibitions."

But it's not all acting. "There's no denying that success adds a lot of confidence to a person. But trust me, when I started my first film, I knew nothing. It comes to you with Joditime. Actresses like Katrina or Kareena exude a certain aura, because they have a certain amount of confidence in what they're doing and the gratification from years of good work, which also translates into them looking confident," she says.

Anushka does a turbo-charged workout five days a week (see box). Says Amit Roy, her trainer: "She's dedicated as hell and takes no shortcuts. I don't know another girl who lifts weights like her."

Which is why recently, she was disturbed following reports of her being anorexic. "I am tall and lean, and I've always had a high metabolic rate. I know that I lead a healthy lifestyle." She now couples her workouts with healthy eating every two hours and that's what's got her that killer body you see on our cover.

Successful is sexy
Anushka's 7 rules for getting ahead
Make your own motivational rules. I have weird reasons for pushing myself. For instance, though I dislike dancing, I know that choreographers like Vaibhavi Merchant or Shiamak Davar put in so much effort and I have to make the songs look good. With Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, I knew that Aditya Chopra had placed so much faith in me and I just had to do well.

Wait for the right break. After my first film released, although it was a big film, I sat at home for six or seven months without accepting offers that came my way, because I didn't want to do anything unless it was worth it. I just had the faith that everything's going to turn out to be good.

Don't take success too seriously. When you start thinking that you have arrived, and you're 'it', that's when the downside will be bitter.

Work out to feel on top. The release of endorphins in the body makes us so high right after a workout, it's almost addictive. When I don't work out, I feel low. People tend to miss their workouts when they feel tired, but I make it a point to do it, particularly if I am pooped. It always energises me.

Don't be a follower. Be yourself in whatever you do; it paid off when I did. Just like you can't blindly follow fashion, you can't follow fitness either. Stop worrying about what other people are saying. Don't stress yourself out thinking, I have to lose weight, or look like Deepika, Priyanka or Anushka.

Go out and play. It makes you a different kind of person. My holidays mostly happen in London and I hit the running track at Hyde Park when I'm there. I have a very close friend in the Army and we are both crazy about adventure sports. I just love the (adrenaline) rush.

Keep it real. I am very practical about things. I know that I am doing this (films) right now. After a few years, I will not be in this industry. I want to get married and have children. A sense of reality always travels with me. I believe I will not get sucked into this. But that's not happening anytime soon.

Make way, folks!