Taapsee Pannu tried modeling for a few years before becoming an actress. During her time as a student, she also tried her luck in the Miss India pageant, where she made it to the top 28. But the experience was not a pleasant one for the actor, as he recalled how much favoritism was there in the competition and during the trial phase, he was insulted by a designer who told him that he should not have been there.
The actor recalls that she was one of only three Delhi-based females chosen, and she had to compete against established models. She was a novice compared to them because up until that point, she had only participated in photo shoots and had never walked the ramp or featured in a television commercial.
Taapsee discussed her time in the beauty competition in an interview with The Lallantop. She said, “I recognized that that was not something I could do during the ‘grooming phase. They forced us to move and smile. At the time, [designer] Hemant Trivedi served as the subject matter expert and embarrassed me. If it had been up to me, you never would have made the top 28.
She realized she was “walking on thin ice” at the wrap party later on. There was a lot of partiality, he declared. Contracts that required candidates to donate the pageant 30% of their profits for three years were coerced into being signed by individuals. We decided to go for one once it was over. The national director showed there later, and he very nicely wished me luck in the future. I’m not sure what overcame me, but I commanded him to obtain a written statement from me, sir. You won’t be getting the crown back, so take it.
Taapsee earned the titles of Miss Fresh Face and Miss Lovely Skin while competing in the pageant. The Telugu movie Jhummandi Naadam, which was released in 2010, marked her acting debut. With Chashme Baddoor, a 2013 version of David Dhawan’s 1981 comedy of the same name, she made her Hindi film debut.
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