Catch this beauty ideal where she checks in frequently… to fly. And as she soars, she gets wings on the way, which she puts to use while practicing the craft that makes her feel at home. From her school days to the heydays, Humaima Malick knew what she wanted to do. What she performed in front of the mirror, the audiences got to see years later – Humaima waltzing, and stamping her mark on the fashion runway, and in front of the lens – silver screen as well as television. MAG brings you the shining star from Bol, who was also seen in Dekh Magar Pyaar Se, and opposite Emraan Hashmi in a Bollywood thriller, Raja Natwarlal.

was always in front of a mirror rehearsing, the scene always being one where I was a part of a beauty pageant,” the uptown actress time-travels on the alleys of her eight-year-old naughty self. As we wait to board, Humaima seems occupied, and in a twinkling she hits a low. “This makes me so sad,” she points at her smart phone screen. Not getting to watch Dangal, Aamir Khan’s feature film which is out in cinemas worldwide, but not in her own hometown, makes this style icon doleful. “I can’t get to watch it here. If it were Karan Johar’s film, I could have missed it, but Aamir’s and Salman’s films I cannot miss,” she makes her fondness for the two major leaguers of Bollywood known. “Art has no boundaries and Indian movies should be shown in cinemas,” and as words leave her, her sentiments for the ban on Indian content hits intangibly high.

As announcements pierce through, marking out delays in flights due to the persisting fog, this vogue star, who has been featured in the fashion bible, the British Vogue, talks about an intimate bond.

“I am in a relationship with insomnia. I can sleep at a stretch for 14 hours, which is difficult for any soul on this planet to do,” and that is not where she stops. For her, the equation with slumber is unbalanced, but she counters spontaneously, “But I can stay up straight for three days, too!” There you have a beauty sleep slayer. “I look better and prettier when I get to sleep.”

One thing common, if there is to this urbane soul to-date, has to be her breakfast menu. “I eat paratha every morning; I have been having it every day since school,” Humaima dishes out. Are you visualising the fit lass, wondering where she scraps all those calories?

“I work out as I have a tendency to gain weight,” the style queen reveals her ways to stay prim. “I am a complete foodie who loves to eat at home. I don’t like dining out and desi cuisine is my favourite,” catch the indigenous side to her. “I’m the karahi, roti, paratha kind, and not a restaurant person; of course, when I’m away from home I enjoy cuisines of the world,” Humaima shares, marking out Italian to be her next favourite on the list. Is she a sterling cook? “I am an equally good chef,” she says, but baking is what speaks to her, especially preparing desserts.

And as she flicks her locks, there is a hustle. The usual rush when gates open. For Humaima, the gates to her second home await, The Old Smoke, which is a special place for this lady for whom her nearest and dearest are a dozen. “I love London! I always spend a lot of time in the city for I have family there and I am always thinking about my primary circle. For me, family always comes first.”

To define her in her own words, the groovy chic is unpretentious, unlike many others of this much-too-glam-and-frenzy-field.

“Humaima is a caretaker and a mother to her siblings. I have looked after them ever since they were young,” the altruist paints her own self, adding “I can never ever think for myself alone.”

This charming lass of the glam community has 4 am friends all over the showbiz sphere. Dusting away the past, when asked if she has plans of settling down, Humaima feels “pretty settled. I have my own house and cars, and am the most independent. What else can I ask for?” and the clichéd tying-the-knot query, had to be spelt out for her. “Maybe sometime soon,” the lady delivers.

As the year bids farewell, Humaima reminisces all that she experienced. “The past year, I had some good and bad moments but I wouldn’t want to change anything about it,” says one who feels comfortable in her own skin.

With her favourite’s movie out, Humaima shares the pinnacle the year had for her. “Many faces evolved in the past year, but for me, the highlight was my brother Feroze’s movie, Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hay, along with a number of remarkable flicks that the audiences got to see,” and the siblings’ relationship speaks across.

A number of projects are in the queue for this actress, who expresses she has an occupied new year. For all the Narcos buffs out there, you have Humaima on the same page of fondness for the serial, too. And it’s not merely an infatuation for the serial. “I love Narcos and would like to do a gangster role.” Who knows what is next for this damsel for whom unwinding is another way of staying still. “That is the best way to relax.”

As the final announcement to board is made, Humaima’s name is called out, who in the meantime is looking for her body lotion in her hand bag. “Fragrances, my phone, a battery pack and a hand cream is what I travel with,” she reveals.

This out-and-out still soul is a dove at heart. “Love, and spread more love. Stop internet trolling! You guys have mothers and sisters too. Why spread hate when there is love?” she says.

“I am in a relationship with insomnia. I can sleep at a stretch for 14 hours and can stay up straight for three days, too!”

Not to miss her flight, she gets ready to jet while she hums. Not catching the tune, she expresses, “It’s Hotel California, the lyrics are what I really like,” and like a brush leaves its stroke on a canvas, Humaima disappears from sight with a distant toodle-oo. All those wondering where the traveller would be jetting off next to? Mexico is on her list. Plan an itinerary, for maybe you can catch her on your next flight to the land of Aztecs.

Hair, Make-up & Photography: Akif Ilyas