Anushka Manchanda Talks About Her New Identity Nuka, And How She Fearlessly Deals With Trolls

Have you met Nuka?

Anushka Manchanda recently released a new video 'Don't Be Afraid' under her new identity Nuka, so we caught up with her to know a little about her new project. 'Don't Be Afraid' is the first single from the three-video series that she aims to finish this year.

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"NUKA actually is the name that I gave myself when I was four-years-old. You know I was referring to myself in third person, I was one of those people for a brief period of time. And it's the name that came back to me when I decided to do something artistically and creatively for myself. So I wanted to create a space and a project through which I could express myself creatively without any interference from anyone else, I wanted to do something where I had complete creative freedom and complete control."

Anushka always wanted to do something where she has complete control over the creative part of the project and use her art to express herself and her thoughts exactly how she wanted. She tells us how she has evolved as an artist over the years and with 'Nuka' she wants to connect with her audience on a whole new emotional level.?

"I think till the time I was like 22/23, all the songs that I ever wrote were all about heartbreak because the worst thing that had happened to me in my life was that my heart was broken. After that, as I got older, I realized that heartbreak is really small in the larger scheme of things. There's so much happening around, you know, in the world that is affecting me and that's what actually inspires me and pushes me to do things a certain way. Because I find that as an artist, the best way to communicate with people is to do it through your art and to have some kind of an emotional connection. And that's my endeavor. I'm just using my art to express myself and my thoughts."

Her 'Don't Be Afraid' video has some really interesting makeup aesthetics used to show the transformation of the human body from ashes to a tree.?

"And I think that was the most challenging part for us?was?to create, like a tree version of a human and we took hours to do it on a day that I stood for 10 hours and I couldn't sit because I had all this makeup on me. But I think we managed to create the connection that we have between humans and nature and that's something that we need to always remember, always keep in our heart because at the end of the day you come from the earth and you go back to the?earth."

The internet is an?unhealthy reminder of the fact that there are some people who will always put others down, especially women by slut-shaming them or threatening them. And Anushka has always been a hot favourite of the internet trolls. But guess what? She loves trolls and she knows exactly how to deal with them.?

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"I love trolls."

She says when you post something online then you need to be prepared for the criticism and she stands by everything she has put out on the internet.?

"You better be prepared when people are talking about it and talking back. You better be ready to engage because when you engage you know, you never know maybe you learn something or maybe you change someone's mind."

But the internet is a mean place and some comments do have the power to sting even the strongest of people.?

"When I did this photo story called #FreeTheNipples, there was a comment that someone had written. I think it was the only comment that really stung which was all about don't talk about other people and what other people want, you have no idea. If you want to free your nipples you free them let's start a new hashtag #FreeAnushkasNipples. I was like, how mean."

Anushka feels strongly for the environment and has?taken the?#NotAPlasticoholic pledge?to eradicate the use of single-use plastic from her life.