As she came up the escalator at the mall, every eye turned towards her. “I proved I am more than just a pretty face,” Pantaloons Femina Miss India Earth 2011 Hasleen Kaur, who was in town on Wednesday for the launch of a new design at Tissot showroom in Oberon mall, shares the happiness of carrying the crown of every girl’s dream. “People respect me for the crown I wear. Now I have proved that I am more than just a pretty face,” she says with a smile that exudes confidence. Born and brought up in Delhi, Hasleen is a graduate from IIMC (Indian Institute of Mass communication). “If I hadn’t been crowned I would be working in an ad agency now. I love media and learned a lot from IIMC. But I wanted to give modelling a try. Then I wanted to give Miss India a try,” Hasleen says.
Hasleen is really happy to be in Kerala. “I am in Kerala for the first time. I love Kerala. Everything is so neat and clean here. It’s not just the weather that makes this place beautiful. I am planning to make a house here! I would love to move to Kerala,” she laughs.
Hasleen now lives in Mumbai. A model by profession, she is planning to enter Bollywood. “Sanjay Leela Bhansali is my favourite director. I love the genre of movies he makes - Guzaarish, Black etc. I hope one day he will be able to bring out the talent in me.”
Hasleen breaks into a smile as she recalls the moment she was crowned Miss India Earth.
“At the moment when I was waiting to hear my name, I was confident and very positive. I kept my mind uncluttered. I didn’t want to miss that feel of hearing my name being called out. I was trying to keep myself calm,” she says. The beauty gives all credit to her family, her dad who was in the army and her mom who is in the field of education and is a headmistress now. “The driving force is the inner confidence and the self belief that is a result of my upbringing.” Her inspiration is actor Gul Panag. “I thank her for the confidence she had in me. She was the one who said I should try Miss India.” To Hasleen, her mother is the perfect lady and her idol is Indira Nooyi. “She is an example of how a women can achieve outside her household.” Though her dreams and ambitions are in modelling and movies, Hasleen is a socially aware person. “I think my position gives me a certain voice and media exposure, which I should utilise. I should not just use it to get into the world of glamour. People will listen to me and I can make changes,” she says.
Hasleen is joining Nav Jyoti, a movement by Kiran Bedi. She also intends to spread awareness about the environmental issues. “I am planning to organise some fundraising programs for rural areas. I want to be a part of all that, educate and counsel people,” she says.
With a radiant smile, even brighter than the crown she wears, Hasleen makes her statement of success. “Anybody aspiring to be anything should focus their complete energy on it, do it with love and passion. At the end of the day love drives everything...”
Says Hasleen Kaur as a parting note - “Give it your love...give it your best shot and God will help you with the extra luck you need.”