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The Journey: Lopamudra Raut – Setting beauty goals


‘The Journey’ continues on India’s Premiere English business news channel BTVI. Presented by Hyundai, the series features famous personalities from various sectors, who share their success stories and future plans. The show mainly concentrates on how they built their careers and stayed ahead of competition in today’s fast changing environment. 

‘Hyundai Presents The Journey’ airs on Business Television India (BTVI) every Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 1.30 pm. 

Episode 5 – The Journey with Lopamudra Raut

Lopamudra Raut is a well-known model and beauty queen. She represented India at the Miss United Continents 2016 pageant and was crowned the 2nd runner up. Raut was a strong contender in reality show ‘Bigg Boss 10’ and was also a participant in ‘Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi 2017’.

How did it all begin? When did you realise this is the path that you are going to get on?

It all started from the thought that I wanted to participate in Miss India. I used to be an engineering student (I am an electrical engineer now). During my engineering days I realised that there is probably a lot more to my life and not just engineering. I never saw or imagined myself in a salaried job. My parents have been working for the Government of India and I have seen the pros and cons. It’s very difficult for the child when both the parents are working. I have seen those days and the hardships; it’s not that I am not hard working, but I did not see or imagine myself doing that. My parents have served for the Government of India on a very high authoritative role, but I didn’t think I was made for it.

Every time while I used to sit in my class as an engineering student, I used to look at the board, and it said, “Strive hard to get what you like, otherwise you will be forced to like what you get”. I decided that’s not where I wanted to see myself. I was always into extracurricular activities, be it sports, music, drama, fashion shows, and so I was everywhere growing up as a child, who was house captain, basketball team captain, cricket team captain in school and in college.

Somebody in my guitar class suggested that since I was pretty and tall, why not try for Miss India. Other people too felt that I should Miss India a try. It was as if the universe was giving me signals. At that point in time I wanted to do something, but I didn’t know what. However, I soon got busy with my engineering exams. During that time, I happened to come across a news in the newspaper about a 21-year old girl winning the Miss India title. I felt inspired as she was the same age as I and had already won the Miss India crown. I knew I was going to be an engineer, but what next?

And that’s when I told my friend that next year it would be my picture in the papers. There were, of course, people who made fun of me, but there were also many who believed that I could make it. Different people gave different opinions. You just have to recognise the opportunity and the right suggestion. Within 6-7 months from that day, I was actually on that newspaper wearing the same tiara, holding a book in my hand and a sash of Femina Miss India Goa 2013.

What was your parents’ reaction when you told them about you inclination towards this field?

They were not very pleased about it since I come from a family which is very academic and career oriented. They didn’t have much understanding about Miss India or any beauty pageant. I explained to them what it was and the differences it could make to my life. But since I was young, my parents did not want me to leave engineering and divert my focus to something else. I begged my dad to allow me to go and promise that I would finish my engineering degree first. He finally relented, though he was upset. You see, I had always been stubborn and could convince everybody around me and do the things that I wanted to do.

Over the years, the situations changed, people changed, opinions changed and everybody who had told me I would not make it, has a different opinion today. I have evolved through my experience and my journey through pageants. I have become a different person and I am very proud of it, and I am glad I took that step in life.

To Watch full Episode Click Here.

How have you changed as a person and in what ways?

I might sound clichéd when I say that I always listen to my heart. I am very intuitive. Your heart always tells you different stories and that’s what happened to me always. When I passed my 10th I knew I wanted to do engineering, I knew I only wanted to do diploma and then engineering. I was always sorted in my mind and knew what I wanted to do. Dad wasn’t convinced even then, but I came out with flying colours and got good marks in my diploma and then I did engineering and did exactly what I wanted to do. I have always listened to myself no matter what people thought, be it my parents, sister or friends.

What are you looking forward to? What next?

I definitely want to prove my mettle in acting. As a child I used to do a lot of mimicry. The whole idea of observing things so closely and trying to do what you have seen and the idea of enacting something gave me a message of acting, which is something that I’d always wanted to do.

How was your experience participating in reality shows like ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’ and ‘Bigg Boss’?

It was very challenging, though I wouldn’t say ‘Bigg Boss’ was as challenging as the beauty pageant. The journey has been insane and especially when people tell you to give up, the biggest challenge is to shut everyone up. You have to know that you can do it and maybe it’s not the right time.

I think if you have done ‘Bigg Boss’ in your life, you can do anything! I was in that house from the first day to the last day, which is 105 days. I was in a house which was cut off from te outside world, dealing with people and extreme situations that you have never faced in your real life. Everything was extreme in the house – the people, their reactions and their behaviour, and it just kept on building as the days passed and became the worst towards the end. The reason why I took the decision of going to the ‘Bigg Boss’ house was because I have always been a person who would never listen to anybody and only listen to myself and my own intuitions. I wanted to challenge myself – could I be myself in that house? I think I have come out as a really strong person.

Any learnings from there?

When I was in the ‘Bigg Boss’ house, every spoon full of sugar mattered, every tomato and every chilly mattered, you started valuing the smallest of things and people in life. I was absolutely isolated and so I started valuing relationships much more. Being in the house I used to miss my parents, but I couldn’t talk to them. It was like I was in an alien world absolutely away from people, no phone calls, no letters, nothing. When I was upset, I used to come out and look into the sky and all I could see was sparrows, the sun, moon and the open sky. All the time you had to keep telling yourself that you could do this, this is nothing, I have to face the real world outside and deal with different people and that’s how I encouraged myself.

To Watch full Episode Click Here.

Are you a social person by nature?

I am extremely social and I have a lot of friends.

How do you spend your day?

I can’t sleep early and don’t fall asleep before 3 or 4 in the morning. In case I have difficulty sleeping, I just read some books. I guess I am a thinker and so I think a lot and that’s one reason why I cannot sleep early. I am always planning what to do next, the things that I should be doing and what could I do better for my own progress. I wake up at 8 in the morning, work out for 2 hours and that’s how it is most of the time. However, if I have a project, I might sleep at 4 in the morning and still wake up at 6 am.

My ideal day would be to meet a couple of friends, sit at the Breach Candy Club and watch the sunset. It’s a beautiful idea for me.

You play football and basketball, you like to travel and sing. Do you really get time to do all that?

I think I am a good bathroom singer and I used to be in my school squad. Though I never really got an opportunity to sing, I would love to do that. I have also grown up playing basketball and was the basketball team captain in school.

Who has been your idol?

Priyanka Chopra has been an inspiration since childhood and she is somebody I look up to and whose journey I have seen, observed, tried, Googled. I have pretty much followed her and she is very inspirational the way she is. But as a person, I want to be like my father because when I see the way he talks, treats and helps people around him, I think he is just an angel sent on earth. There were situations where I did not know what to do in life, I didn’t know whether what I was doing was the right thing, then I would think what my dad would have done in a similar situation and I do the same thing.

How would do inspire or motivate yourself in times of problems or hurdles?

I read a book in my childhood, where it was written that every cloud has a silver lining. That impacted me a lot, because everything is temporary in life. That thing could be happiness, sadness, sorrow, joy, obesity, a body or face – everything is temporary and you’re gonna go through it. It’s just a phase and it will pass. I have got these feelings that I am the most useless person in the world and that I am not loved at all, but it was all temporary and it’s just that moment. The very next moment you will feel aesthetic, you might have something that you have always wanted.

Every time I felt like it’s not working for me and thought of giving up, I would think about the children that I would have in future. It’s funny, but I thought that 20 years from now when my kids asked me what I did when I was their age, what would I tell them – stories of me giving up or will I tell them about me taking heroic steps in life? I would like to inspire them and not make them think of me as a person who gave up. That’s not the story I want to tell my kids. It doesn’t matter how hard you fall, what matters most is how fast and how strong you get up after being hit so hard. I got up every time I was knocked down and came up as a stronger person.

To Watch full Episode Click Here.

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