Exclusive: We live in a very colour-obsessed country, says Malaika Arora Khan

Malaika Arora Khan, at 40, is svelte, sexy and young. Age is one thing that does not show on her beautiful face. At the Beauty India Show Conference, she elaborated on the meaning of beauty according to her. “I can now say that beauty is skin deep, but I grew up being told that I am not very beautiful,” she confesses. “We live in a very colour-obsessed country,” she continues. “I have grown up with a sister who is gori-chitti. But thankfully, my parents never made me feel that way. Now, I feel that confidence is beautiful — no matter what shape or size or colour, one has to be comfortable in one’s skin,” she elaborates.\

Steering the conversation towards her upbringing, she asserts, “I have grown up, learning from my mom, who has always helped me think with a positive state of mind.” “I remember starting my career in the ’90s as a model,” she elaborates, “I can say the beauty industry has definitely evolved. My beauty and modelling career went through a long journey. We are far more organised and flourishing now, than what we used to be,” she says about the fashion industry.

Malaika views herself as a business woman. “I am working towards becoming a businesswoman. I am a style consultant for a major online beauty and lifestyle portal. But my personal goal? I plan to flourish as a restaurateur, and I am working towards realising that dream,” she concludes.