Celeb Travelogue: Lauren Gottlieb Picks Ranveer Singh As Her Travel Buddy

After training Hollywood stars like Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and Tobey Maguire, Lauren Gottlieb is now making her mark in Bollywood. You might remember this American dancer, choreographer and actor better from Jhalak Dikhla Jaa and ABCD fame).

Originally from Arizona, U.S., here’s presenting the hot and sizzling dancing diva on her travels in India and the world!

BG: You have trained Tom Cruise, Tobey Maguire and many other celebrities. How has the experience been?

Lauren: I was choreographing Tom Cruise for the MTV Movie Awards in Los Angeles where he was playing the character from his movie Tropic Thunder. I trained him one-on-one for about a month and was really touched by his humility. It isn’t something you expect from a super star who has reached such heights in his career. It was, indeed, a great learning experience for me.

BG: What do you like about India's dance culture?

Lauren: Back home, there is a structured and strict dance style that we follow. In India, I feel dance is more culture driven. Dance forms like kathak and bharatnatyam are based on discipline, which goes a really long way in your life. Besides this, the costumes from different regions like Gujarat, Rajasthan and Punjab are so vibrant and beautiful.

 BG: The one thing you never forget to pack when going for a dance show.

Lauren: That would definitely be my dry shampoo! When you’re dancing, your hair gets sweaty and you don’t have time in between performances to go for a head bath. So, I always spray some dry shampoo to give my hair a fresh look. I would say non-dancers should also consider using dry shampoo, it’ll save them so much time.

BG: The one thing you can’t step out without.

Lauren: Is my portable speaker since I’m quite fond of music. More than that, it helps to keep my driver awake when he has to drive for long hours.

BG: Your airport style.

Lauren: I hate having my feet cold in an airplane, so you will always see me in high boots and layers of clothes. I also think that it’s a good idea to wear glasses when you’re getting out of an airport. This way, you don’t have to worry about puffy eyes or dark circles.

BG: How do you pass your time on long flights?

Lauren: I carry my Hindi notes and study them.

BG: An unforgettable travel experience.

Lauren: I remember this one time when my family and I were going for a vacation to Hawaii. Luckily, the airline overbooked the flight and made an announcement that if anyone is willing to wait and get on to the next flight, they will be offering some free travel vouchers. It sounded exciting, so we thought we’d hang out at the airport. Surprisingly, after waiting for four hours, it turned out that the next flight was overbooked as well. We took the offer again. Finally, after killing time for eight hours, we boarded the flight and pretty much got our entire vacation travel paid for. Trust me, the wait was really worth it.

BG: Your favourite hotel in India? What factors do you keep in mind when booking a hotel?

Lauren: The Taj. I have been to a couple of them in different cities and found the service, hospitality and food fabulous. For me, location is a key factor when choosing a hotel. If I can just walk out of the hotel and be right in the middle of the city, I think that’s the best thing.

Lauren: Look up the weather at every place that you are going to visit. What I find so crazy about India is that you go for a show in Delhi and its freezing cold and then you come back to Bombay and suddenly it’s so hot.

BG: Indian dishes you have gotten obsessed with.

Lauren: Paneer, chicken makhanwala and bhindi masala.

BG: Your 2014 travel bucket list comprises?

Lauren: Southern India, Dubai, Australia, South Africa and U.S. (I will get to go home that way).

P.S.: I really want to explore South India and not because I’m looking for movies in Tollywood :)

BG: If you had to choose one travel buddy from Bollywood, who would it be?

Lauren: I think it’ll be Ranveer Singh. His energy levels are mind-boggling so I can have some good fun while on the go.

Ahem, ahem! Well, I hope Deepika Padukone is not reading this.

So, while Lauren continues to win hearts with her moves and movies in Bollywood, you stay tuned to read about the travel tales of another bombshell from the silver screen in the next Celeb Travelogue.

(All pictures courtesy Lauren Gottlieb)