The long game

Tamannaah Bhatia knows exactly what her skin needs-simple rituals, serums and stress-free days.

- SAACHI GUPTA

Outside of work, Tamannaah Bhatia considers herself "the laziest person on the planet". It is why her nightly skincare routine is only five minutes long, consisting of a natural scrub made from coffee and Shiseido's Power Infusing Serum. "Even in those weak moments when I'm exhausted, I still try to lie down and finish the ritual," shares the actor, dressed comfortably in a grey T-shirt and sporting clean skin, as we chat over Zoom. "I keep it simple and fast." Since she was a teenager, skincare has been sacred to Bhatia: "It was a way of loving and spending time with myself. I always believed that it's better to start early and maintain healthy skin rather than fix anything in the future." Yet, the actor's goal has never been to prevent looking older; in fact, when I point out how people across the internet are refusing to smile to avoid wrinkles, she thinks it's ridiculous. "Younger generations are constantly trying to defy ageing, but I don't want to go against the flow of life. The idea is not to stop ageing but to age gracefully," she says.