SHOWBIZ IS NOT FOR THE WEAK: LARA

You need to be a strong person in order to survive in Bollywood or in the modelling world, feels the actor

Actor Lara Dutta Bhupathi believes it’s crucial for a person to be strong to survive in Bollywood or in the modelling world as it requires nerves of steel to navigate through the volatile world on showbiz. The actor, who was crowned Miss Universe 2000, says one “needs to be strong” to make it through the pageantry.

“Today, whether it’s pageantry, surviving in the modelling business or entering Bollywood, I don’t think you’ll survive if you’re not strong as a person. The idea is not just to train these girls but also to provide them an ecosystem which gives them the support they need. To create a sisterhood with few past pageant winners. So that when they go through experiences, they understand that they aren’t alone,” says Lara, who completes 19 years of winning the beauty title.

The actor said aspirants today seem to be “far more armed” than what she or other Indian pageant winners like Priyanka Chopra (Jonas) and Dia Mirza were. “That has got to do with the social media influence. So they have access to a lot more information, have far more experience and are exposed to more things than we were. We came in as 18-19 year olds, barely out of school or college. The girls today have access to tutorials, most of them have also taken some grooming classes. Every girl who comes in is beautiful, so it’s not about changing the way they look but more about instilling a confidence in them, an ability to break the stereotype of how a beauty pageant winner ought to be described,” she adds.

The 41-year-old says the myth of how a pageant winner looks needs to be “shattered”. “A lot has changed from the way a stereotypical beauty pageant winner was described. We need to teach these girls to step out of their comfort zones, to be able to shatter the myth of what a stereotypical beauty queen was supposed to be. In order to that, they need to have a voice of their own and the ability to express it,” she shares.

A lot has changed from the way a stereotypical beauty pageant winner was described. We need to teach these girls to step out of their comfort zones.

ACTOR

PHOTO: YOGEN SHAH Lara Dutta Bhupathi