ONE- PIECE WONDER

Draping in fabrics like chiffon contours your shape for a flattering effect, like this deep-neck, ombré swimsuit.

boyfriend back then who saw me try so hard to get skinny would say ‘Yuck, why? You look beautiful as you are’.” What’s her new and improved body philosophy now? “‘Sexy’ takes place in the mind first,” she says. “You’ll have phases when you put on a few kilos and that’s fine, you can always work it off. Fitness is what’s important.”

Now where is that accent from? Wasn’t she born and raised in Hyderabad? She laughs, “Yeah, but I studied in an international boarding school—i had American teachers and that’s where it stuck.” Malika is no wide-eyed Bollywood starlet in the making. There is no gushing about finding her calling, or any carefully laid out plans for a movie career. “Acting’s interesting, but I’ve not thought about it,” she shrugs. Right now, it’s her music career that has her bopping. She is one half of the DJ duo, The Electroverts, (the other half is her best friend Nina Shah), which produces progressive house and electronic music. The girls have played gigs around the country as well as in Dubai, Australia andd UK, and hope to release a few singles this year. Malika also loves dancing (she’s trained in ballet, jazz).

There is an undramatic assuredness the leggy model exudes. She’s happy about the new opportunities coming her way, but not enamoured by them. “No point getting hysterical. Life is impermanent; everything rises to pass away,” she signs off.