‘Instead of all the pakodas and samosa on the set, I’d rather eat this’: From a passport-size photo of husband Dr Shriram Nene to a toilet seat sanitiser, these are the essentials Madhuri Dixit carries in her bag

“Well, I think I carry enough stuff, and not too much. But my team thinks I carry too many things in my bag. They say, what are you doing? Carrying your house?” she laughs, as she begins to unpack her signature tote.

Some of her essentials are straight out of a mum-on-the-go handbook: “I carry tissues, always. Because anybody who spills anything in the car is like, ‘Mom, do you have a tissue?’ So, I always have to carry tissues with me.”

Then there’s the nail kit. “I’m very conscious of my nails. And when I travel, they tend to break a lot. So, I always have them on board.”

A big highlight? Her preference for healthy snacking on set: “Instead of all the pakoras and the samosas on the set, I’d rather eat this… And we all share it. All my co-stars know that I carry trail mixes.”

Hygiene is clearly top priority too.“Toilet seat sanitisers… I’m very particular about toilets. I have this big fear of them—not of toilets, but of using different toilets,” she admits candidly.

The list continues with reusable face masks (“you have to protect the environment”), moisturisers to combat dry hands from constant sanitising, and a toolkit to feed her creative downtime between shots.

“This is my little doodle book… when I’m on the set, when I’m bored, when it’s between shots, I love to do that.”

In true Bollywood diva fashion, she doesn’t go far without a lipstick (and a backup tinted balm), a hair tie, perfume, and even a pillow mist.

“Sometimes if I want to sleep well and just want to feel good, refreshed, I just spray a little bit on the pillow. It’s like a spa.”

One of the most endearing surprises tucked into her tote is a photo of her husband, Dr Shriram Nene. “There’s a picture and I don’t know what it’s doing here. But it’s good. It’s all good.” she says, smiling. “Hello, I love you!”

And because wellness doesn’t take a day off, Madhuri always has her sugar substitute, migraine medicine, sunscreen in two formats (a regular SPF for bare skin and a powder SPF for makeup days), and even a soothing skin spray for her dust allergies.