Emily Shah – Favourite Things

Emily Shah is an Indian-American Actress. Shah grew up on the film sets of her Bollywood producer father, Prashant Shah, and later went on to be the first Indian-American to compete in Miss USA. She recently founded a liquor company selling the world’s first Ayurvedic Inspired distilled spirit, Dharma Indian Dry Gin, and is an ambassador for several charities and nonprofits including UNICEF, Autism Awareness, and Alicia Rose Victorious Foundation. Her latest film, Jungle Cry, came out in cinemas yesterday and will be available on streaming services on 16 June.

These are a few of Emily Shah’s favourite things…

Mexican Food 

I have to eat Mexican food a couple of times a week. It is my favourite food, my heart and soul, and whenever I go to a new city I have to try and find the best Mexican food that they have. I grew up eating lots of Mexican food — I’m not Mexican by any means — but it is just something that brings me pure happiness. Yesterday, after attending a screening of my new film Jungle Cry my friends wanted to go for a nice dinner but all I could think about was tacos so we ended up picking up street tacos instead. I’m in New York at the moment for work and when I’m here, I always go to JaJaJa which is a plant-based Mexican place that I love.

Flowers

Flowers, specifically orchids, are so beautiful. I feel like flowers are a really thoughtful gesture, whether it is a happy occasion or a sad moment in life — flowers signify a lot of different things. I always have fresh flowers in the house. I try to get them once a week and I know some people might think that is a waste of money but it is worth it as it brings me so much joy. 

Travel

My favourite pastime is definitely travelling. I have been travelling since I was a little kid; my mum is a flight attendant so I started life literally in her stomach travelling and have had the bug for it ever since. I love being able to experience different cultures, food, languages and music. When you see how other people live it opens your eyes and gives you a broader mind and perspective, it makes you grateful for your own life but also shows you what else is out there. The south of France is one of my favourite places to travel to, I went to the Cannes film festival there which was so magical. Italy is another, I hope to live there one day — my boyfriend and I talk about buying a house on a vineyard and filling it with horses, rescuing as many dogs as we can and making a sort of haven-sanctuary out there. I also love Maui in Hawaii because it is so dense in nature and greenery. I really love being out in nature, hiking and swimming in waterfalls — I always feel the most grounded when I am doing those things.

My rescue dog 

I was able to rescue a dog during the pandemic. Her name is Bagheera which means Black Panther in Hindi, she prances like a little cat when she wants to play which is why we called her that. We got her DNA tested, we are those parents and she is mostly German Shepherd with a little Australian Cattle Dog, Rottweiler and Husky — she is very strong. Bagheera was in a kill shelter with her sisters when I adopted her but now she is such a joy in my life and my family’s life. She has actually saved my life once. I was in a really horrible situation in LA where a man came up behind me when I was walking her and tried to kidnap me. She came in between us and scared them off. I called the cops and they said that this had been happening in LA and that the dog probably saved my life. I feel like humans don’t deserve dogs because they’re so special.

Family

It sounds cliché but my family keep me grounded and I am so lucky to have a family that is super supportive and pushes me beyond what I think I am capable of. I have five siblings; two brothers and two sisters. Two of them live on the East Coast and two live in Missouri.  I don’t think I would be doing Jungle Cry or this interview without my family. I would be nothing without them, my family is very important to me. Jungle Cry is all about these boys that don’t have a family and for me to be able to say that I have a family that is not just around and supportive but incredibly loving, I try to never take that for granted.

Enjoyed Emily Shah’s favourites? Explore last week’s Favourite Things here.