Anushka Sharma reveals everything about her fashion brand Nush

Anushka Sharma is on the phone when we walk into Andheri's Yash Raj Studio where she is meeting press at the launch of her fashion line, Nush. She purses her lips, hums a tune, and then smiles when someone says, "You are trending".

"Yeah," she laughs, her excitement palpable.

Sharma is wearing light blue skinny denims and a tee, looking leggy and fresh faced. The line she has birthed carries glimpses of what she wears when she is not on screen -- high-street wear. "That's the point. It's really for everyone. I want to make fashion easy," she says. And though she may be busy with acting and running her production house, she assures us that the fashion line isn't a part-time venture. "The fact that I am sitting here and talking to you means that I have given it lot of thought, and that I will take out time for it. It would have been easier not to do this and instead, endorse an existing brand. My involvement is complete. I like being consumed with whatever I do. I am not social, so either I am working or spending time with family," she says.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

What are your earliest fashion memories?
I'm not sure I can call myself a tomboy, but I was a kid who wasn't interested in doing anything but playing with my friends. When I grew older, a friend in the colony where I lived looked at me one day and said, 'Hey, you know what? You are pretty. Why don't you open your hair?' My hair was done in two plaits for school, and I'd roam like that the rest of the day. I remember saying to the friend, 'But I don't want to.' I thought I was cool enough anyway. But around her, I started looking at myself as a girl for the first time. Then, of course, modelling happened.

What was the first expensive item of clothing you bought?
I have never been the type to buy frightfully expensive branded stuff. But the first time I went shopping with my mother where I didn't worry about the prices, that was something! It wasn't fancy shopping that I did. It was high street, but not having to care about the money meant something.

You told a magazine that Karan Johar once said you were carrying a 'last season' handbag, and you said to him, 'I don't give a f''k!' How do you tackle the fashion police?
I would say it again. It's great to have nice clothes, and look good in them, but don't allow that to dictate your self-worth. If you do something because it makes you feel good, go ahead. If you are doing it to find affirmation, I won't approve. I will never tell you to be that person.

What was your brief to the design team for your line?
I said make it accessible to people of all ages, and body types. I want it to be a line that is easy to style; you don't have to be a special kind of person who understands fashion or how to style, to wear clothes from it. The initial rounds of meetings would go on forever. Every piece of clothing conceived, was worn, and shared with members of focus groups who tried it.

Is there a film whose costumes you didn't enjoy wearing?
Jab Harry Met Sejal. It was far removed from my personal choice.

So, is your personal style evident in the line?
My aesthetic sense, yes, that's evident, but it's not like I will wear all that's on offer. There may be some designs in there that are not my favourites, but someone else might like them.

Has there been a piece of clothing you had to pinch yourself to believe you were wearing?
I have no interest in luxury clothing. I am selling high street fashion because that's what I love to wear personally too. I may buy shoes, or a bag, but I don't buy entire collections. That's why I love a brand like Urban Outfitters.

It's not the first time an actor has launched a fashion line. Sonam and Rhea Kapoor introduced their collection for the young, urban Indian woman recently. How will your line stand apart?
I am not here to differentiate my line from anyone else's; that's not the idea. I do what I want to, when I want to. I have been planning this (launch) for five years. I have worked on finding the right people to do this with. The more (competition), the merrier. Everyone will do what they think is best, and leave it to the customers to choose.

Bollywood's most fashionable actor is?
Me! No, but seriously, I think everyone dresses well. Sonam (Kapoor), of course, and Kangana (Ranaut). Also, Akshay Kumar and Ranbir Kapoor among the men.

Cricket's most stylish player?
(Smiles).