Elle India – July 2019

(Joyce) #1

ELLE.IN 35 JULY


EDITOR’S LETTER


...WOMEN are more


RESILIENT in the face


of any adversity. Their


EMOTIONAL STRENGTH


is a RESERVOIR


Photograph: Sushant ChhabriaCotton dress, ANOMALY. Metal earrings, Misho. Hair and make-up, Jean-Claude Biguine


— SUPRIYA DRAVID
Email: [email protected]
Insta: @supriya.dravid

I


had an epiphany while we were putting
the book together this month. It started
with a simple yet poignant point that the
finance genius Roopa Venkatkrishnan,
featured in this issue, said, “We’re
taught about making money, but we are
not taught about creating wealth.” It got us
thinking. Wealth in this context can extend
beyond just money. It’s about the cultural,
emotional, and cerebral capital that we
need to create for our future generations.
As a magazine, we need to use our
voice and our stories to empower our
readers. This issue is a paean to some of
the incredible, badass and phenomenal
women who inhabit our consciousness. 
Our cover girl, Kangana Ranaut, is
a one-woman wolf pack. A strategist at
heart, she plots every move with precision–
and makes no bones about the emotional
strength it has taken to make it in the
world that was far, far removed from her

childhood in a small, hillside Himachal
town. Kangana knows when to stir some
noise, and when to disappear into work
(acting, directing, producing).
Similarly, Sonakshi Sinha, our digital
cover star, may have been to the manor
born, but she has created her unique
identity through her artistic choices. While
she had to fight nasty comments on body
shaming, she took it upon herself to work
hard at looking her fittest (and fabulous)
best. In our interview with her, she says
that she took up this fitness challenge
most importantly for herself, and not to
prove anything to anyone.  Isn’t that the
greatest form of self love? During our
shoot, she looked like a total badass
supremo with her crazy braids and was
an absolute sport when we got her to keep
cycling around a deserted underground
parking lot in the heat.
In many ways, I feel women are more
resilient in the face of any adversity. Their
emotional strength is a reservoir. Our
lavish spread (Standing Strong) in this

issue features five tenacious women–from
Bollywood’s breakout talents to stunt
women—all of whom have remarkable
stories of success. When we asked
Geeta Tandon, a veteran stuntwoman in
Bollywood, on the kind of pressures she
has to face on a daily basis. Her answer
was sharp, “I am a single mother raising
two kids, giving up was never an option.”
It gave me the chills. The hustle is so damn
hard, folks.
But as one of the fiercest women I have
had the good fortune to know, Zadie Smith,
wrote once, “You are never stronger...
than when you land on the other side of
despair.” So ladies, thank you for inspiring
us, and may you continue to soar, and may
your tribe never stop growing. 
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